Young and talented actress Reem Shaikh is currently entertaining fans as Kalyani in Zee TV’s popular fiction show Tujhse Hai Raabta.
She has won everyone’s hearts with her natural performance. The actress has proved her versatility while playing the challenging character in the series.
In conversation with IWMBuzz.com, Reem spoke about her character graph, show and more…
Tell us, how’s it been playing Kalyani so far? What pulled you the most towards this role?
It has been a journey of two years and I as Kalyani has experienced a lot. I have seen my character graph grow. When they narrated the story of Kalyani, it was about the journey of a teenage girl to a married woman, who is also the mother of a child. It was very exciting to explore all these characters. I was looking forward to it as I knew that I can add many shades to this character. Right from being a kid to handling a baby and being a mother. It was very exciting for me as an actor to play the character of Kalyani.
Kalyani has multiple shades. Which one satisfies you the most as an actor in terms of performance?
Kalyani is a person, who reacts in a different way in certain situations. For example, Kalyani will turn a kid and play with her child. On the other hand, Kalyani is also fighting for her child when someone harms him. I enjoy doing scenes with Poorva di (Gokhale), who plays my on-screen mother Anupriya. Scenes where we both are emotional and I am crying my heart out and sharing my pains with her. It satisfies me as I feel that I can portray all my emotions. Also, I feel that emotional scenes consume a lot from an actor and for me to put that energy in front of my audiences and deliver a great performance makes me satisfied.
What has been the most challenging bit about Tujhse Hai Raabta so far?
I have always been very excited about my scenes and sequences in the show. I love challenges and doing some challenging scenes. I remember I have fear of height, still, we shot a scene where we were hanging at height with our harness on. I don’t know swimming still I performed an underwater sequence. Every scene has been challenging but very exciting at the same time.
Was there a phase where you had a dislike for a particular track, and you did it because there was a requirement?
My favourite sequence was the Roza and Naxalite track that we shot. Kalyani was going through a lot of emotions during that time as she had to save her child and husband whereas her mother’s marriage life was also bothering her. And her real mother who passed away during the initial episodes was alive and that was a piece of shocking information for her. In this track, there was one particular sequence wherein I had to disguise as Sardar. And I am a typical girl, I love wearing all accessories and I like being a girl and they made me a Sardar with jacket, turban and loose pant. We used to shoot in Madh so that turban used to give me a headache. I think that was a track where I genuinely told my creative ‘please give me a different disguise look but not Sardar.’ I think that was the first time when I disliked something.
So how have you evolved as an actor with this journey?
I am working with a lot of senior actors and I am blessed and fortunate to be working with them. Savita Tai is a very senior artist. She is disciplined and comes prepared for her scenes. Poorva di, who has excelled in Marathi cinema. I have learned a lot from all of them. Milind Pathak, who plays my father-in-law in the show, he once gave me a piece of advice that I can play with my face so I should modulate my voice as well while doing my scenes and I tried that and trust me it helped. It changed my acting.
How is Sehban as a co-star? How has your experience been working with him?
Sehban (Azim) is a very supportive co-actor. I am blessed to have him as my co-star. We have a great understanding and bonding. If he improvises in a scene then I know how to react and vice versa. It helps to deliver better performance when you have an understanding co-star.
You have been winning appreciation for your role. How does it feel? Share any best compliment received so far?
It feels great when people appreciate my talent. I am running short of words. My family has always appreciated my work but now my co-stars also praise me. On the day of my mock shoot, I was told that I cry badly during my emotional scenes. It took me five minutes to understand whether it was a compliment or a comment. However, what he meant was that I cry realistically and this makes the other person also emotional. I will never forget that compliment.
Do you have any regrets in life?
I have learnt from every experience hence I don’t have any regrets. When you take life positively you will never have any regrets.
What has been the turning point in your life?
The turning point in my life was the major break that I took after my show Ashoka. Those 2 years taught me a lot.