Hindi TV and regional cinema are poles apart: Shriya Jha

Regional film actress Shriya Jha, daughter of veteran NSD and TV artiste Amardeep Jha, has been impressing one and all with her performances in Sahara One’s Jhilmil Sitaaron Ka Aangan Hoga. “Our show, at 9 pm, is different from the normal family drama, in the sense that here the groom comes into the Raichand household. But, we are not glorifying the practice of Ghar Jamai as my on-screen husband Aakash Sharma (Pankaj Singh Tiwari) is forced by circumstances to live with me and my mother Kalyani Devi Raichand,”the actress says. The current track sees you and your husband leaving the household. “As it is , Akash was always ill-treated. But lately after some differences arose, we were forced to walk out.” For the moment, the couple are living in Akash’s mama’s house. “We, a self respecting couple, don’t want to be a burden on any one. We agree to stay with mamaji only after his insistence,” avers Shriya. Does this mean that the story will now move away from the Ghar Jamai track? “No, the other two other younger sisters of mine, Chandana and Jharna continue to live with my mother along with their respective spouses,” she discloses. The role of Kalyani Devi was first being played by Sudha Chandran who was recently replaced by Kamalika Guha Thakurta. What went wrong? “I don’t want to comment on this as that is something between them and the Creatives. All I would like to say is that I had a wonderful time with Sudha ji , she helped me a lot and am also getting along well with Kamalika mam.” Tell us what made you shift base from regional films to TV? “I always wanted to act in projects that are made in a language I understand. I feel by this, one enjoys the entire process much more.” And how different is Hindi TV from regional cinema? “They are poles apart. It has taken me some time to understand the working of the small screen setup. I admit having made many a technical mistake and I am still learning, ” Shriya says, adding, “that one of the main reasons for saying yes to this Rajshri Productions project is that they are very good people to work with. I am also getting along very well with the directorial team and the entire caste as well. ” But you could have chosen a more popular channel for your small screen debut.“Agreed, Sahara does not have reach as big as Colors or Life Ok, but it has its presence in the North and several small towns here and there. Finally, you can’t have everything in life, right,” she reasons.