Raksha Bandhan is one of my favorite festivals: Sukhada Khandkekar

MUMBAI: Raksha Bandhan is just around the corner. Sukhada Khandkekar, who is seen as Saraswati in Prateek Sharma and Parth Shah’s Pukaar: Dil Se Dil Tak, which is produced under their banner, LSD Studios, is excited to celebrate the festival and said, “Raksha Bandhan is one of my favorite festivals. I actually love all festivals, but Raksha Bandhan holds a special place for me. My elder brother, Sudeep Deshpande, lives in Bahrain, and I've always celebrated Raksha Bandhan with him through video calls.”  

“I send him Rakhi every year, so it’s never felt like I’ve missed out. Besides him, I have another brother, Abhijeet Guru, who is like my own brother. He lives in Mumbai and is a celebrated writer and actor. Since both of us are in Mumbai, I can tie Rakhi to him in person every year. We’re both actors, and as you know, our schedules can be unpredictable, so sometimes we manage to celebrate Raksha Bandhan before or after the actual day. But no matter what, we always find a way to celebrate it together. This year, our plan is to meet for dinner after our shoots, and I’m really looking forward to it,” she added.  

There are special sequences in TV shows during festivals, and she feels that the pressure of creating them depends on the production team and the working culture of the show you're involved in. “For example, in the case of Pukaar, the production team and the director are extremely disciplined and well-planned. Because of this, we are always well-prepared with a good bank of episodes, which allows us to work without any pressure. Whether you're stuck in traffic, it's raining, or there's some delay in the shoot for the day, it doesn’t matter because we've already completed enough work in advance,” she said.  

“All the credit goes to our production team, LSD Productions, and our fantastic director, Prateek Shah. Thanks to their excellent planning, we've never felt any pressure while working. During festival times, it's usually a very mutual understanding that if there's an important day or event, a break is planned accordingly. This way, the unit gets some rest, especially after an intense shooting schedule. This happened during the summer as well, and it was because of great planning that we could work without any pressure.I'm sure as we approach the festive season, which is going to be beautiful, colorful, and filled with happiness with back-to-back festivals, everything will run smoothly. Thanks to our excellent planning, we'll be able to balance everything without any stress,” she added.  

Plans for Raksha Bandhan this year? “Apart from my two brothers, I have five more cousins who are like siblings to me. In total, we are seven brothers and just two sisters. Every year, we all get together to celebrate Bhai Dooj, and Diwali is always celebrated in Nashik, where all my cousins and in-laws live. We gather in Nashik for Bhai Dooj, making it a special time for us to be together as a family. On Rakhi, however, we usually connect through video calls to celebrate with all the brothers, even if we’re not physically together,” Sukhada ended.