Mansi Srivastava, who is playing a selfish lover gal in Star Plus show, Divya Dristhi, finally opened up about her entire Ishqbaaaz stint.
“This Star Plus show completely changed my ball game. I started off as a bahu in Do Dil Bandhe Ek Dori Se, before playing a 20-year-old collegian in a comedy show, Peterson Hill, followed by another bahu avatar in Sasural Simar Ka.”
“In Ishqbaaz too, although I eventually became a bahu, I also got a chance to essay a stylish cop. Till then we never had a cop character in a daily show, but Bhavya was completely different. And yes, it gained popularity, as all our award-winning show characters did.”
“I really had fun doing all those stunts in a suit. Also, the play out of the character was fun for no one knew that she was a copper.”
“Ishsbaaaz allowed me the chance to come out of the bubby bahu zone and try out performance-oriented characters. Although Bhayva was a serious cop, her interaction with Rudra (Leenesh Mattoo) gave me a chance to play with the romantic angle as well.”
Given the way the show eventually wrapped up, could the writers not have eased out the principal cast and ended the show?”
“Well, we had been hearing news of the show shutting down anytime since the past 6 months. But we never knew how the end will come or the leap will happen, but that depends on the makers (Gul Khan)”.
“And to be honest, I don’t hold any grudges, for this is a business and it is obvious that they will try to push the show as long as possible. And they thought that maybe newer characters might give them the chance.”
“Being a very practical person, I take these things in my stride. Whether my character is eased out or the show ends, it is curtains for me, which I accept with grace and move on.”
“Luckily for me, my new character Lavanya is again something I have not done before. I would not call her dark. She is madly in love with Rakhshit (Adhvik Mahajan)”.
Mansi does not fear being typecast as the other women, “Like today, audiences are very smart. This might have been the case a couple of years back, but not anymore. Have we not seen actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui doing both positive and negative characters back to back on web and films (Sacred Games and Photograph) Now the yardstick is not the type of genre but what change you can bring to the table.”