I couldn't fulfill my duties as a daughter-in-law : Apara Mehta

Apara Mehta is a name that is familiar in every household. The actor has been in the industry since the days when television actors went into a metamorphosis from being simple and sober to glam idols. The face of many shows, her latest project is Hamari Saas Leela on Colors. In a tete-a-tete with Tellychakkar, Apara spoke about her show, her career and saas bahu camaraderie. How did Hamari Saas Leela happen? When I heard the first line describing the show I realised that it was meant for me. We are not doing any rona-dhona and the character of Leela is of a person who belongs to this age. She is somebody who hails from the city of Mumbai and belongs to the upper class Gujarati community. People can easily relate to the character. Tulsi from Kyunki Saas… is considered to be the ideal bahu. Keeping that in mind, what standards have you set for your bahus? Well, the concept of ideal bahu belonged to the time when everything was very black and white in television. Human beings aren’t that black and white. The only reason why these concepts worked was due to people’s desire to have daughter-in-laws like Tulsi and Parvati. But with the way the television trend has changed people want to see something realistic. What king of daughter-in-law are you in real life? I am still a bahu for my in-laws but I am also a working woman. I haven’t been able to become a typical bahu as I couldn’t fulfill my duties as a daughter-in-law. Will you get the kind of bahu you want on the show? Yes, I do get the bahu I want but she would come in a way and in a form that I would have never expected. As the story progresses a lot of good things will happen that are very real. People had a different image of you in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Do you think people will accept you in this new role? Well, I have done a lot of work after Kyunki… though the show was one of the biggest on small screen that changed the entire experience of television viewing. In fact I am very proud to be a part of it and I would never think of changing that image. But I have also done lot of other shows after that and have portrayed many different characters, including cameos, which have reflected my versatility as an actor. Are mother-in-laws mostly negative in real life too? No. It is mother-in-law not monster-in-law. Even at this age you’ve bagged a lead role in this show. What do you have to say about it? All the roles that I have done have been mind-blowing. I have always been offered with the best of roles. It is not possible to accept all the offers as it is physically strenuous. Till date, nobody has come to me with a role that is mediocre or ordinary. In this show viewers will enjoy the chemistry between Feroz (Bhagat) and me. Will this show also turn into kitchen politics later on? See, kitchen politics works so there is no reason to look down on kitchen politics. If I want my show to be a hit and if it demands bringing in kitchen politics, we will go ahead with it. Do you think the show would have done better had it got a prime time slot? Now-a-days the prime time slot has shifted. Earlier it used to be 9 pm to 10:30 pm, but now it is between 7 pm to 9 pm. Post 9 pm people mostly watch reality shows and news channels. So it would not make much of a difference.