Slow and steady wins the race. This epitaph clearly applies to talented and good-looking actor, Aalisha Panwar, currently essaying a double role in popular Colors show, Ishq Mein Marjawan.
Says the actor, “Success has not come easy to me, having had to go through the regular audition grind. I have slowly raised my graph, beginning with being the heroine’s best friend (Begusarai), then younger sister of main lead (Thapki Pyaar Ki), parallel lead (Jamai Raja 2) and now main lead.”
Here, she makes a frank admission of not knowing how to act at first. “Over time, I picked up on the job, by observing others. I am lucky to have worked with talented co-stars. The icing on the cake was the compliment that we never thought you could act. Back then, I was regarded as just another pretty face. It feels nice to have proved your detractors wrong.”
Talking about Ishq Mein Marjawan, she says, “Apart from positive (sweet, innocent Aarohi) and negative (psychotic serial killer, Tara), I got to play other shades as well, i.e. uneducated, Bihari-speaking village belle, Kesari.”
“Playing a double role is fun but challenging, as both Aarohi and Tara are completely different in body language, dialogue delivery, etc. Several times, I have to play both characters at the same time, and in the same getup. Standing all alone, talking to myself was indeed a huge task but now I am used to it,” she adds.
“The biggest challenge in essaying Tara was that I could not go all out, for I had to retain a strand of audience sympathy. She is not just a vamp, out to split Aarohi from Deep (Arjun Bijlani), but has a few positive attributes as well. Further, while this fashion diva loves killing, she can’t stand blood, having OCD. I am among the very few TV actors to have got a chance to play such complex layered character.”
In closing, she avers, “I never expected to do a negative character, always having been told that I have a sweet face. But I am glad that Beyond Dreams saw this potential in me. It is always good as an actor to play all kinds of genres. I am glad that I have been able to pull it off. Fans tell me that they love Tara’s killing machine avatar, besides Aarohi’s sweetness.”
Keep the good work going, Aalisha!