Divya Dutta has just moved into her dream home in Juhu suburb and she feels proud.

"I'm at heart as goofy a dreamer as Shanno, the wannabe bride that I play in 'Shanno Ki Shaadi'. One of my dreams was to build this house. I've been putting it together brick by brick. And now when it's ready I feel so proud," Divya said.

The TV serial has been a totally relaxing experience for Divya.

"I do all these realistic films like Anant Kamath's 'Trisha' (about baby-snatching from hospitals) and Prabhakar Shukla's 'Gudiya' (about the war widow with two husbands). And then when I need to unwind I've 'Shanno'," Divya told.

"My chemistry with everyone - Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Kamini Kaushal and my co-star Vikas Bhalla - is so amazing! Shooting for 'Shanno Ki Shaadi' is like a daily visit to La-la Land.

"(Director) Rajiv Mehra approaches every scene with such unusual skills that you forget the size of the medium. And just enjoy what you're doing. And the viewers' response is so amazing and so positive!"

Divya has done only three serials so far, the trend-setting "Kadam" on Sahara (where she played various true-life characters), Vinta Nanda's "Sansar" and now "Shanno ki Shaadi".

She feels TV is a rewarding medium. "But only if done sparingly. I've done three serials and I've enjoyed each one to the hilt. I can't see myself doing 23 dailies. It'll burn me out. The trick of being liked on the home medium is to remain exclusive."

Divya is all praise for her romantic lead Vikas in the serial "Shanno Ki Shaadi". "We flirt, laugh, joke and pull each other's legs all the time. I think it's very important to jell with your co-star in a serial.

"I don't think 'Shanno' would've worked so well if it wasn't for my chemistry with Vikas. I've done films where co-stars have made my life miserable," she grimaces, not naming Diya Mirza and Ayesha Jhulka with whom she had bitter experiences on film sets.

Shanno, according to Divya, is a lot like her.

"We're both extremely goofy and clumsy. Gestures such as me constantly sniffing and rubbing my nose have made the character so endearing to the audience. I love the challenge of doing comedy because on the large screen I'm perceived as a serious actress. It's fun to escape into the fairy-tale world of 'Shanno'."

Strangely, Divya's most memorable characters have been Shanno on TV and the similar-sounding Shabbo, Preity Zinta's maid in Yash Chopra's "Veer-Zaara". "And now in my new Punjabi film 'Waris Shah' (which is the most expensive film being made in that language) with Gurdas Mann, I play a character called Sabo."

She smiles at the mention of Mann. "We've done four films together. Our first Punjabi film 'Shaheed-e-Mohabbat Boota Singh' was a super-hit and since then we've become quite a pair."

Along with a new home, Divya now moves into a new feature film directed by Manish Gupta with Irrfan Khan and Om Puri. But she loves the TV medium as well. "I like going back and forth from one to the other. And as long as I get something as strong and unpredictable as 'Shanno' I've no problems doing television."