No role is big or small for me : Disha Vakani

Disha Vakani may have tasted popularity with her character of 'Daya', the funny better half of Taarak Mehta but she was also the one who played Aishwarya Rai's good friend in Jodhaa Akbar. Disha comes from an illustrious family and began acting on stage since childhood. With both her father and brother as actors, Disha had to be in the industry. Only in her early '20s, the actress feels the key to good acting is to be flexible with roles. Recently we caught up with her for an interview: How do you choose your characters? I always prefer doing roles which the public will find interesting and are enjoyable for me too to play them. I like doing masti se bhara characters rather than boring stuff. It’s been a long time you are on Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. Don’t you feel like going for some other role? No. I am very happy with the team of Taarak Mehta. It has made me popular and playing Daya is sheer pleasure. You talk in a different manner on screen for that role. Is it tough to maintain the same voice and does it harm your throat? Yes, it is very tough to maintain the same voice every time but God has been kind, till now it has never damaged my voice or created any throat problems as such. It’s a habit now since I continuously shoot for 11-12 hours a day. The character of Daya is a mother too. She is not your actual age, do you ever fear you will be stereotyped? No, I am a very optimistic person and have never thought of the negative side of any opportunity offered to me. I think every role is demanding if the character designed for the same is interesting and demanding. Whether it is a role of an old woman or even a small role, my only interest is to play it well…it should give me a challenge to enact it. Have you ever played any such role before? Yes, I had done a role of an old woman and even a role of a nurse at the age of 10, when I used to do theatre. I always wanted to maintain my flexibility as an actor. I don’t have any agenda as such when it comes to choosing my roles. So I even prefer doing advertisements; no role is big or small for me. You are required to work long hours. Does that affect your personal life? I have been doing this from my childhood, so now even my family is used to me working long hours. But I easily balance between family and work. So personal life remains as fit as professional.