After promising the PR person that there will be no questions related to the estranged husband, Raja Chowdhary, Jyothi Venkatesh managed to spend an evening with actor Shweta Tiwari, and found out that the latter is striking a fine balance between 'Kasautii Zindagii Ki', Bhojpuri films, her latest show, 'Jhoom India', and of course, her daughter Payal.

Q. How did you decide to accept the offer to play the lead heroine in a Bhojpuri film?
A. The Bhojpuri language is a tradition that you adapt to, not just a language you learn, and this fascinated me. It is a culture by itself. Watch my latest film, 'Kab Aibu Aanganwa Hamaar', where Manoj Tiwari is my co -star, and you will be able to identify with the villager.

Q. Tell us more about your role in this movie.
A. I play Naina, a middle-class girl, who is besotted with the hero. The hero is a loser, and is just wasting his life. The movie is directed by Sanjay Tripathi, and it is a clean, neat family social.

If the audience can accept a scantily-clad heroine, then they will definitely accept a fully-clothed heroine. I am proud to be a part of the film, which, by the way, is distributed by the Rajshris.

Q. Is it true that you ended up bruising yourself while cycling for some scenes in the movie?
A. It was difficult to get into the skin of the character that I play in the film. Naina cycles from the village to college everyday, and I soon found out that cycling was not my cup of tea. Although Manoj offered to teach me how to cycle, I bruised myself.

Q. You do not speak the language. How difficult was it to work on your role?
A. It was hard work – learning the lines by heart and then saying them in front of the camera, and at the same time, trying to understand the meaning and nuance of each sentence. We were shooting in sync sound, which is a big challenge. I almost gave up one day, because it was so tough.

And then I realised that Krishna Bhat, who is a South Indian, had made it a point to learn the language to prepare himself for his role. I was embarrassed, because I am from Allahabad, and it should be easier for me to learn the language.

Q. What was it like, working with Manoj Tiwari?
A. It was a great learning experience. He is such a big star, and he has absolutely no airs about him. He was of great help as a co-star, and also acted like a guardian on those days, when I was going through some personal problems and missing my daughter Payal, who was in Mumbai.

Manoj is an intense actor. He never used glycerin for his tearful scenes.

Q. You have produced a Bhojpuri film before this.
A. I made my debut in Bhojpuri films with 'Hamaar Saiyya Hindustani', with Ravi Kissen as my co-star. I produced the film. I have a third film lined up, titled 'Ye Bhauji Ke Sister', and Manoj is my co-star, again, in this one.

Q. Are you contemplating Hindi films as well?
A. People ask me why I am not interested in Hindi films. I have always believed in destiny. If I am destined to act in Hindi films, then I will. I am actually keeping my fingers crossed, and I hope that I am offered meaty roles in good films, by big banners. Till that happens, I am happy with my role as Prerna Bajaj in 'Kasautii Zindagii Ki'.

Q. Tell us a little about 'Jhoom India!'
A. It is a very interesting concept by Sahara One, and is based on the reality show on Zodiak Television, called 'Stars on Stage'. Ten soap stars will be coached by popular playback singers to sing and perform in front of a jury and a live audience.

Each performance will be a duet, where guru and shishya will perform together. Suresh Wadkar is my mentor in the show. I cannot sing to save my life, and I have to try to do that in front of Shabana Azmi, Anandji and Mahesh Bhatt. - Jyothi Venkatesh