Aashish Mehrotra regards his new Star Plus show, Anupamaa, as an entry into the A league. “I first started with a small character in Qubool Hai and Manmarziya. I then got a good outing as a cop in Dehleez, but since the show did not do well, I could not capitalize on it.”
“But I am sure this Rajan Shahi production about a mother (Rupali Ganguly) will rock the rating charts.”
Talking about his son character, Aashish says, “He does not care about anybody but his studies. He does not hold his mother in real high esteem as the promos show. He is rather more close to his dad.”
“However, he is not aware that his mother insulates him from a lot of mess. We often take our moms for granted.”
Going on, Aashish says, “One big reason why we think this show will run is that it is entirely on the point of view of a mother. Very few TV shows stick to it, most end up going down the saas-bahu route.”
Aashish refused to speculate on the reasons of conflict, “Why don’t you watch for yourself?”
On a pointed question, whether there could be an extramarital affair track, he says, “I don’t know, but hypothetically speaking if it happens, it would offer me as an actor/character much to do. i.e. altering equation with his mother, her love and father.”
“There will also have to be a profound reason for her to cross the line. Alternatively, it could also be just someone who is only offering her a shoulder to cry on. Such platonic friendships are often wrongly interpreted as an affair.”
“A relationship is not necessarily based only on sex. But there are a host of other underlying reasons as well,” says he.
When asked about Rupali, he says, “My mom has been her huge fan, ever since Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki. So at first, I was a bit nervous, but mam came forward to break the ice.”
In closing, Aashish is also full of praise for producer Rajan, “Sir treats all of us so well that we put in that extra bit. His best trait is that when he sees you falter, he will point it out in a motivating manner. Typically most actors get put down when shown their mistakes.”
Best of luck, Aashish!!
