Ami Trivedi the versatile actress who has been showcasing her acting repertoire from her childhood is presently winning hearts with her portrayal of Manjiri Harshvardhan Birla in Star Plus and Rajan Shahi’s show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.
A dutiful mother and wife, she has sacrificed all her life and has very recently borne the courage to fight against her ruthless, never-caring husband.
In a candid chat with IWMBuzz.com, Ami talks about how this journey with the show has been.
How are you enjoying your stint in Yeh Rishta?
I am enjoying it tremendously. This is one character I have never portrayed before. Manjiri is shown to be subdued, but she has a journey. Many times I have disagreed with what Manijiri does. But I am so much in love with her journey. I want to thank our creatives and writers. When I read my lines, I am in tears. The phase that we are in right now in the show, where Manjiri has taken a stand for herself, does not even allow me to cry. So the Ami in me wants to portray a lot of emotions, but Manjiri has to overpower her. I am enjoying the last few episodes that I have shot for.
Manjiri’s character has gone through a lot in the last few weeks of telecast. How has this transition been to portray?
I am living the pain of Manjiri. It feels very good to see that my character has finally decided to stand up and speak up for her self-respect. She reacts as per her character. I am told many times that Manjiri does not cross her limit and I need to hold myself in certain places. I am enjoying my transition.
As a woman how different or similar are your thought processes on how Manjiri has lived her life?
As a woman, I am very different in my thought process when compared to Manjiri. There are so many times when I have felt that she should have stood up for herself. What I connect with the most is the emotion that she has for her son. In real life too, I live this way for my son. Apart from that, my life is very much different from Manjiri’s. I like the way she thinks about her family. But Ami is more practical and much stronger than Manjiri.
Do you have any takeaways from Manjiri?
Yes, many takeaways I have. Her patience, her sacrifices, her strength as a woman. Even when she is keeping quiet, and seems weak, it requires a lot of strength to behave like that. I realized this when I was living Manjiri’s character. It requires a tremendous amount of strength to not react to a situation. It is very easy to portray anger and vomit out what comes into our heads. But it is very difficult to keep quiet. I try to imbibe these qualities from Manjiri. There will be a time when her strength will come into the open.
Tell us about your most challenging sequence so far in the character of Manjiri?
My most challenging scene was the one which came very recently, wherein Manjiri signs her divorce papers. I was prepared for the scene, I took my time. It was the first scene of the day. In this particular sequence, I was literally crying before shooting for it. How Bhavna had written the scenes was so amazing. To top it all, the way Garima had conceived it was very effective. When the time came for me to perform, I was told not to cry. The director told me to give a blank look, he did not want a drop of tear from my eye. He did not want me to show any emotion. This was a very difficult scene for me. I took three retakes for the scene, just to make sure that I perform it as Manjiri and not as Ami.
Are you happy with the graph your character has seen?
I am very happy with the graph. The audience always wants to see results. So every time Manjiri’s character got suppressed, I used to get messages to get up and speak up. Every character has a journey, it is a graph. It is a difficult moment for a woman to stand up for herself. Many ladies in real life look strong but never can stand up inside their houses. It requires a huge change and it has to come in with a lot of time. I am thrilled to have reached this phase in the storyplot. I feel happy for Manjiri.
Best of luck, Ami!!
