Pankhuri Awasthy, who had taken a break from the TV during which she got hitched to actor Gautam Rode, is back on the tube. She has just entered popular Star Plus show, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.
“It obviously feels good to be back and that too with such a well-known brand. I am playing a sweet, unassuming girl of the Goenka family, called Vedika. She will be a positive influence on Kartik (Mohsin Khan), who is heartbroken following the death of Naira (Shivangi Joshi).”
Talking about her Yeh Rishta connect she adds, “I would follow this show religiously when it first started with Naitik and Akshara, but then later got busy with work. The best thing about this show is that here, nobody is bad. We might have grey characters but whatever they do is justified. We also show that such people can also have a change of heart. This realism, positivity, and yes, the love story attracts the audiences.”
Pankhuri started with youth shows such as MTV Fanaah and Yeh Hai Aashiqui, before being noticed with the title character of &TV show, Razia Sultan (2015). “This is one of the best women-oriented roles any actor can ever get. This Siddharth Kumar Tewary production made me comfortable in front of the camera. Then I did another mytho show, Suryaputra Karna, where I got to essay a character like Draupadi on whose actions much of Mahabharata unravels. This was followed by social show, Kya Qasoor Hai Amala Ka, which traces the story of a gang rape survivor. It also exposed male hypocrisy.”
She further states: “All these magical projects have made me a much better actor and I am raring to get even better.”
Point out that had Razia and Amla worked, she would have been in a different space workwise, and she says, “Yes, but I look at life differently. You need to get my story. Here was a Lucknow lass who quit a well-paying Bangalore job to try her hand at acting. I had no support system, yet I have reached where I am, so no regrets.”
