Zee TV’s popular fiction show Tujhse Hai Raabta has been an audience favourite due to its intriguing plot and fantastic portrayal of Kalyani (played by Reem Shaikh) and Malhar (played by Sehban Azim). Prior to the lockdown, the show was at a very crucial juncture and it returned in July with fresh twists, giving the audience something exciting to look forward to. In fact, recently the show even took a 5 year leap after Malhar shot Kalyani. With Malhar’s world turning upside down and Kalyani returning as an IAS officer only to find the love of his life married to someone else, viewers are waiting with bated breath to find out what’s in store for Kal-Ma (as the couple is popularly referred to on social media) going forward.
While portraying the role of an IAS officer on-screen comes with its own set of responsibilities and challenges, looks like Reem Sheikh has done her research very well. Now a District Magistrate, her new avatar certainly demanded a lot more sternness and authority, which is quite contrary to what her character – Kalyani was earlier. The new part demanded a lot of maturity, confidence and a seasoned self-assurance in handling critical situations and so, Reem watched innumerable videos on how IAS officers conduct themselves. She even spruced up her look with power dressing to bring about the necessary effect. This transformation was quite a drastic change for her to step into but being the method actor that she is, Reem has indeed gone the whole 9 yards in prepping for the part!
Talking about her prep, Reem Sheikh revealed, “As an actor, I believe change only helps me improve my skill set. My new avatar in Tujhse Hai Raabta demanded me to research a lot as several new aspects were to be introduced in my character graph. In fact, playing the role of an IAS officer onscreen comes with its own challenges and I had to bring about maturity and a lot of confidence into Kalyani’s new avatar. It was quite a drastic change. I feel the new avatar of Kalyani is quite head-strong and rigid in her own way. For the same, I watched a lot of videos to understand how IAS officers conduct themselves. I have worked extremely hard and done a few workshops as well and I hope the audience loves the new avatar of Kalyani just like they adored the pre-leap Kalyani.”
Post leap, the narrative of Tujhse Hai Raabta saw a deeply dejected Malhar wasting himself. Demoted to a sub-inspector, he is no longer the alert, prompt and grounded cop we knew him to be. Just as Malhar looks like he is drifting away beyond a point of repair or return, Kalyani returned. However, the tides have turned and she is now his boss. With Malhar married to Avni (Shrashti Maheshwari) and Anupriya (Poorva Gokhale) losing all her confidence, the viewers are keen to know what will happen next in KalMa’s life!