Pallavi Pradhan is one lucky actress, for she did not get typecast after her impressive comic performance in Hamari Bahu Rajni_Kant. Rather, she went on to net the important antagonist character in Jiji Maa on Star Bharat.
“Women of my age mostly end up playing mother roles, but Uttaradevi is a very strong personality. She has a one-point agenda of making Falguni’s (Tanvi Dogra) life hell, and for that she will go to any lengths,” says Pallavi, who has been part of Gujarati stage and films for years.
She had earlier done Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai as well.
On what makes this Jay and Kinnari Mehta presentation a chart-buster, she says, “A combination of all the required masala elements. And here, we actors add our respective inputs as well. Like, I try to infuse some logic into her evil persona, thereby making her appear more realistic.”
Shifting gears, we ask her about her on-screen pairing with Rajev Paul. “At first, I was not sure, for Rajev looks younger than me. But then, women tend to age faster, and men like Jayant (Rajev’s character’s name), who accept what life has given to them, are contented and that reflects on their faces too.”
“You also need to appreciate the fact that happy-go-lucky Jayant does not care about business. Hence, Uttaradevi had to take over the empire which her father-in-law had built assiduously. She is not evil, just full of ego and yes, her stars don’t match up with Falguni’s, though both are in the same astrological house.”
She goes on, “Till now, you have also seen love between Falguni and my on-screen son, Suyash (Dishank Arora). But now, the equation between Uttara and Jayant will also open up, with his past catching up with him. It would be interesting to see how maturely the love triangle between Uttara, Jayant and Gayathri (Anjali Gupta) is played out, given our ages and stature.”
What do you feel about your co-stars? “Personally as well, Rajev is a very cool guy on set, not getting harried by anything. All other actors are also very close to their screen personas; Dishank is just like his very-good-boy character; ditto with Tanvi. The only person unlike their character is me. I am not as bad.”
In closing, we ask her about the public reaction to Uttara’s ill doings. “To be honest, after a hard day’s work on set, we hardly get time for anything else. And secondly, and more importantly, I look so different in person, that no one recognizes me. Uttara wears a lot of makeup and jewelry. Hence no one recognizes me as Uttara Devi when I step out in my personal space.”
Keep up your good work, Pallavi!!