Being an actor, you need to be prepared for anything and everything: Aleeza Khan

Aleeza Khan, whom you have seen in serials like Qubool Hai and Love U Zindagi recently replaced Shriya Jha who played the protagonist Angana in Sahara One’s Jhilmil Sitaaron Ka Aangan Hoga (Rajshri Productions). In a candid chat with Tellychakkar.com, the actress speaks about her current role, the kind of characters she would like to enact, her hobbies and a lot many interesting things. Excerpts: You stepped into Angana’s shoes midway during the show. How did you prepare to slip into the skin of the character convincingly? Being an actor, you need to be prepared for anything and everything. Also, it wasn’t difficult for me to slip into her role at all. After all I am just like Angana. How are you similar to her? Any dissimilarity? Well, like Angana, I take care of my family and fulfill all their needs. Both Angana and Aleeza love kids. However, unlike her I am quite tomboyish. I am also a typical Bandra (Mumbai) girl. These days we are seeing many shows on second marriages coming up. Why do you think it is so? Do you think it is a good trend? I believe that the coming up of lot many shows on second marriages is because the traditional notion of forbidding remarriage is changing. Nowadays, people believe that just because your spouse has passed away or your marriage didn’t work out, it shouldn’t prevent you from leading a full life. More people are now realising that if a family member isn’t given a chance to be in a happy and fulfilled relationship again, he or she may be unhappy. This, in turn, will make the whole family unhappy. Angana’s baby will be diagnosed with Down Syndrome and she will be in a dilemma whether or not to abort the child. What would you have done in a situation like that? I am not too sure as it depends on the situation and my mindset at that point of time. I would surely have wanted to give birth to a baby. Nevertheless, I would not like to bring into the world a child who would suffer. Maybe, I would have aborted the child. However in Angana’s case, she is carrying the baby of the man she loved dearly. It may be very difficult for her to choose to abort the child of her late husband. Nevertheless, now that she is married to Saumya (Aamir Ali), she will also have to take his wish into consideration. Please tell us a few words about your co-actor Aamir Ali? Aamir is a sweetheart; he is very fun loving, a great actor and I can communicate with him very freely. Sahara One on which Jhilmil Sitaaron Ka Aangan Hoga is telecast has low GRPs. Does it bother you that no matter how good your role is, it may not attract too many eyeballs? At times the low GRPs do matter to me. The fact that I am playing the leading lady in a Rajshri show makes up for it though. After all it has been my dream to play the protagonist on a Rajshri show, so it doesn’t matter to me if I am garnering less fame because Sahara One has a low reach. If you could meet Angana in real life, what advice would you give her? Angana is so perfect that I don’t need to advise her. Of all the roles you have played, which role can you identify with the most? I can think of two roles. One is that of Gauri in Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann and also Angana in Jhilmil Sitaaron Ka Aangan Hoga. Your dream role is like… It would have been of the tomboy Anjali Sharma essayed by Kajol in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. In fact, she is my favourite actress. What kind of roles would you never do? An actress should be open to playing all kinds of roles because every character is after all challenging. What kind of change would you like to see in the TV industry? I think the TV industry would be better off without the generation leaps. Because of these jumps, young girls are playing mothers. Actors who are in the age group to play the parents are out of job because the roles that they deserve are being given to characters who are much younger than them. It is indeed strange when because of the age leaps, the actresses playing the mother and daughter are of the same age. This trend may be changing of late in shows like Bade Ache Lagte Hain and Kuch Toh Log Kahenge where actors are playing characters which match their age groups. What are your hobbies? I love dancing, driving, drawing and fashion designing. When I feel lonely, I like to draw whatever is going on in my mind. I am a gadget freak who loves to play games on gadgets. If you were to play a historical character, which character would you choose? Jhansi Ki Rani. Do you have a boyfriend? No, I am single. What are the qualities you are looking for in your soul mate? I would like to be in a relationship in which there is mutual understanding and trust. Though I was not too keen in having a relationship with someone from the TV industry, I am now of the feeling that if you marry a man from the TV industry, there is greater understanding. A TV professional will be able to understand me and my work schedule better. I am also open to marrying someone out of the TV industry though.