Fenil Umrigar is taking the quitting of the lead actor of her Zee TV show, Raja Beta, in her stride. “I understand Rahul Sudhir’s situation. With his mother not keeping well, he had no alternative but to return to Mumbai (shoot is in Jaipur). Poor thing was commuting up and down, which was not working out.”
“We hope that the new Vedant is able to fill his shoes. It is certainly a loss for us for Rahul had become a part of the unit.”
Here Fenil accepts that the show’s story had indeed changed. “I don’t have any problems with the new tale and my character’s place in it, as long as it is justified. Even I would have quit if it did not make sense to me, but so far so good.”
Point out that the ratings have dropped a lot, from 0.9 (opening) to 0.3, and she says, “Yes, but you need to accept that the numbers of most shows have halved with Dish TV stopping operations in urban areas. Also, you need to factor in our 6.30 pm slot as well.”
“Rahul’s exit might further muddy the waters. But you never know, maybe the new face and story will see the TRP go up as well. All said and done, our work is cut out; the game has to be upped. However, I don’t think our show is going anywhere.”
Fenil, unlike most of her fellow small-screen compatriots, is not interested in trying her luck in the web and films.
“I am not cut out for doing intimate scenes or wearing bikinis, and these things are a given, especially in web. I had to turn down a few digital offers for the same reason. Punjabi music videos are still OK, which I have done.”
“Many people call me ganwar (rustic), saying what is the big deal. But I am happy being old school.”
“The above makers are not wrong for they are speaking to the youth, while we in TV primarily cater to housewives. But yes, I am not comfortable.”
In closing, Fenil says, “I am very happy with TV, which has always given me good work (Maryada: Lekin Kab Tak, Bade Acche Lagte Hain and Kaala Teeka). I never had to struggle. But yes, I have always made it a point to keep taking up new offers. You must have heard of me taking long sabbaticals between projects to either recharge my batteries or take off on long holidays.”