Debina Bonnerjee, currently seen in SAB TV show Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga, is one of the more underrated actors of the day.
“At the time I feel that the industry and media have not given me my due given the very varied type of roles/genre I have successfully pulled off over the last 12 years. I first started with Ramayan; back then, being a fresher, I did not have any other option. So both Guru (husband Gurmeet Choudhary) and I put in our best, and we got a lot of love from the audiences. Post this NDTV Imagine mythological show, several similar offers came along, and friends also suggested that we stay on the gravy train and buy bigger wheels (swanky cars),” says Debina in a chat with IWMBuzz.com.
She continues: “But then, being true performers, we want to be versatile. It was not easy for the money was good. Ramayan allowed us to buy our first house upfront. So we shifted to reality shows (Pati Patni Aur Woh and Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout) Guru, on his part, signed up Geet at just Rs 11000 per day, which was nothing. A true artist does not see money only. Now we can say all this as we have made a name for ourselves. But you can understand the temptations we had to resist.”
Indeed, we understand Debina.
“My third phase came with Chidiya Ghar. I was terrified of whether the public will like my crazy SAB TV housewife character. Even now, kids remember me as Mayuri. The comedy stint also saw me try more varied shows like Yam Hain Hum and Comedy Nights Bachao etc. Having made a name for myself, I could have now fallen back to comfort level, but I took one more breather. You need to give time to come out of our last mold (typecasting is a significant issue in television)
After Santoshi Maa, Debina was seen in a different avatar in Vish, where she donned the much-coveted Naagin avatar. Now, she is earning wows in Aladdin.
“My character Mallika is loud given her desire to rule the world. I am enjoying playing the role,” she ends.