Sasural...could have been a tearjerker, thankfully it's not : Ragini Khanna

Ragini Khanna is one of the few actresses on television to have a hit-record. Be it Radha Ki Betiyaan, Bhaskar Bharti or Sasural Genda Phool, Govinda’s niece has always been friends with success. Even her staunchest critics will agree her portrayal of Suhana has a big role to play in the success of Sasural Genda Phool. The show, an adaptation of the popular Bengali serial Ogo Badhu Sundari on Star Jalsha is reportedly breaking viewership records. “Everyone I meet these days asks me about the reasons for Sasural… becoming popular. Frankly speaking, I do not have an answer. It is very difficult to pinpoint any one reason for its success,” she chirps, adding, “Probably it has something to do with the storyline and the fact that everyone can relate to it that makes the difference. The characters of the show are so strong, yet so homely that one can relate to it all.” In fact the actress goes one step further and even compares it with a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film. “It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Sasural Genda Phool is like any Hrishikesh Mukherjee film which offered pure entertainment. There are no negative characters or villains in the show – it is just about human emotions and simple situations,” she says, flashing her by-now trademark grin. Ragini says when she started playing this role she deliberately stayed away from watching the Bengali version. “I did not want to be biased so I made it a point not to watch the original. I felt watching Ritabhari Chakrabarti (she plays Suhana’s character in the Bengali show) would affect my interpretation of the character and my portrayal. So all I did was just skimmed over the show and spoke to her at length,” explains Ragini on the homework she did for ‘Suhana’. “After speaking to Ritabhari and catching glimpses of her performance, I must admit she has done a fantastic job. She has infused life into the character. I called her to congratulate her and said because she has raised the bar so high that the quality of the show is also superior. I also like Rajdeep Gupta who plays Ishaanin the Bengali serial.” Ragini is all praise for Ravi Ojha, the producer-director of the show. “It takes guts to take a regional serial and convert it to a national serial, and make a success story out of it. Ravi Ojha has done just that,” she says. “If we wanted to make a run- of- the- mill serial, he could have easily converted this to a tearjerker. Thankfully he did not do that because the moment he does that Sasural Genda Phool will lose its charm and the audience will stop liking it,” Ragini signs off.