" I am doing a 'Basanti' in Jab Love Hua"

Himanshi Choudhary is one of the lucky few to have bagged Tony and Deeya Singh's new Zee show Jab Love Hua. Himanshi has had quite a long journey in the five years she's spent in the television industry. She started with Balaji's Kahin To Milenge on Sahara One, followed by Kutumb, Lavanya, Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand, Kareena Kareena, Kasshish and Bhabhi. This Delhi girl has been associated with some good shows and is confident about Jab Love Hua where she plays a character similar to Basanti in Sholay. Kavita Shyam chats up the pretty lady. What's your role like in Jab Love Hua? I play Chamkee , a village belle; she is a very loud character, likes to dress up, loves to get attention and gets over-excited at the drop of a hat. Chamkee gets inquisitive about the town people and given an opportunity, she would run away to become an actress. How did you bag the role? I was called for an audition by Deeya and the next day I had to go to Wai (the same place in interior Maharashtra where Ashutosh Gowariker shot Swades) for shooting. I had a mind blowing experience shooting in the breathtaking locales, besides the unit gels well and the production house is really nice. I began shooting in January for the show, but the unit had already started shooting from October 2005. Is your character inspired by the film Bunty aur Babli? My character is inspired by Basanti in Sholay. Chamkee is someone who talks non-stop, has a rustic, ethnic ghagra choli and decorative look and is very much inspired by town people. How did you begin your career in acting? I harboured dreams of becoming an actor since childhood. I did not begin with modeling as a stepping stone to acting. I studied musical theatre in the US for two years. I am basically from Delhi and moved to Mumbai by the end of 2000 and circulated my portfolio pictures and went around for auditions for films and serials. Did your family have any reservations about you getting into this field? My parents have been extremely supportive and have given us the freedom to choose our professions. My father was concerned about the kind of work I'd pick up but eventually he was ok about it. My father is a commercial-industrial photographer and my mother has a business of her own. How has the experience of working in Mumbai been so far? The first year in Mumbai, I felt a little lost and did not have too much work. But by the second year, I got enough work and could find my way around, besides building many contacts. I made some good friends in the industry like Sanober Kabir and Malvika Shivpuri. Lastly, what is Jab Love Hua all about? Jab Love Hua is about how the town people interact with the villagers and how they adapt to each other. It has a bit of all emotions and an essential love track as the title suggests. I will also have an interesting love track in the show. The show has a host of faces like Priya Badlani as the female lead and Sudeep Sahir as the male lead, Suhasini Mulay, Shalini Khanna.The show should be on air by the end of April.