Jiya Shankar of &TV show, Meri Hanikarak Biwi, is very happy with her character and the overall narrative. “I am enjoying every day of the shoot. I think this is best phase of my career so far. What works is the right balance of masala entertainment that TV needs, and a healthy dose of realism.”

“Irawati, who always stands up for her husband and family, is just like me. I too stand for my loved ones.” Coming to the current track, she says,“Karan has created lots of misunderstandings.”

Social media addict Jiya is happy to read on Twitter that her fans are liking her performance.“The character is perfect; I don’t need to add anything.”

This is Jiya’s second show; prior to this, she had done Queens,again on &TV. It did not appear that Jiya was very happy with the way that show eventually went.“The best thing I took home from it was my two best friends; we are still together. The show suffered from a lot of creative and other issues.”

Jiya represents a growing number of TV actors who began their acting journey down South.“There comes a point when you want to grow, and also understand what you are saying on screen.” Many South flicks have heroines who don’t understand a word of their language, and yet are signed on, just for their good looks (our words).

Looking ahead, Jiya is game for doing web series’. “It is quite high on my bucket list.” She has no qualms about showing skin, having already done that, south of the Vindhyas.

“But yes,there has to be some justification for whatever is seen; it can’t be added just for titillation.”

Like everybody else, Jiya too has Bollywood dreams.“I would love to follow in the footsteps of Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone.”