Aneesha Kapoor tells Jyothi Venkatesh that she is scared of the wierd stories making the rounds about the casting couch in Bollywood.

What is Dahhej all about?
Dahhej, a daily soap on air on 9X is a riveting family drama. Set against the backdrop of a vibrant Gujarati family, Dahhej is the story of two sisters whose destinies are intertwined with each other. It depicts the story of courageous Kalyaani, the apple of her father's eye, who sacrifices her aspirations for the sake of her loved ones.

What is your role in Dahhej?
I play the role of the ideal daughter Kalyaani Parikh, the younger among the two sisters in the household. Muskan plays the role of my elder sister in the serial.

Kalyaani is an effervescent 22 year old innocent sweet girl. Being the youngest in the family, Kalyaani is very lively and mischievous but at the same time very sensible and positive, too.

Kalyaani is part of young group who creates awareness about the evil issues in the world. Kalyaani's world changes when she is reduced to becoming part of her elder sister's dowry.

In what way is Kalyaani different from her sister?
Kalyaani's destiny is intertwined with that of her elder sister, Krutika, though both the sisters are very different from each other. While Kalyaani believes in hard work and determination, Krutika is very laid back.

As an actress, you seem to be very low profile. Tell me something about yourself!
Dahhej is my first ever serial as an actress. It is my big break as a debutante. I am glad that I was given this role on a platter by a big television production house like BAG Films. I will always remain indebted to my producer Anuradha Prasad.

In what way is your role challenging for you as an actress?
When the role of Kalyaani was offered to me and I was narrated the subject and briefed about my character, I thought that the role of Kalyaani in Dahhej is certainly a very different character than the kind of character that one gets to watch in serials these days.

Very rarely does an actress generally get to perform a role as challenging as Kalyaani in her life time and hence I grabbed the opportunity with both my hands when it was offered to me.

To what extent do you identify with your reel life role as far as your real life is concerned?
I feel that real life and reel life are entirely different. Though I play the protected and pampered younger sister in the serial, I am far from it as far as my real life is concerned. I

am a little more broad minded than what Kalyaani is in Dahhej. You can say that as far as real life is concerned, I am a more modern version of Kalyaani.

Where did you learn acting to hone your talent?
It is only after I started acting in the serial Dahhej that I learnt how to face the camera. Now I know how to give cues, take lighting etc. In fact I should say that I am now learning every day on the job.

Working in the serial Dahhej is like learning acting in an acting institute. It has helped me that I have been an intelligent kid and was good as far as studies were concerned.

How would you describe yourself as an actress?
I am basically a director's actress. I would like the director to mould me the way the character requires to be shaped. I need the help of the director a lot on the sets. My director Prasad Gavande has instilled a lot of confidence in me right from the first day when I shot with him for the serial.

To what extent were you unnerved by your co-actors in the sets?
Initially I should confess that I was quite scared of all my senior colleagues on the sets like Deepshikha and Muskan but they have all helped me to take my journey forward step by step, as an actress.

I would always remain indebted to everyone of them for having enabled me to shed my inhibitions and get into the skin of the character of Kalyaani, with effortless ease.

Now that you have earned recognition as an actress on television, are you now aiming at making your presence felt as far as the big screen is concerned?
Who does not want to get into movies, be in the limelight and taste success?

However, to tell you the truth, I am quite scared and wary of all the weird stories which make the round about the existence of the syndrome of the casting couch, which I am told very prevalent as far as Bollywood is concerned.

My parents have always been very supportive as far as I am concerned. I belong to a value oriented family. I would not give up my morals and values for the sake of furthering my career, even if I am down in the dumps as far as my career is concerned. That is where I stand quite close to my character of Kalyaani is concerned.

How do you find the working atmosphere on the sets of Dahhej?
I am not exaggerating but the fact is that Dahhej is like a new family for me. In fact I'd say that the unit members of Dahhej are part of my extended family. And you would find that, like at my home, I am quite pampered on the sets, too, with every one going out of his or her way to help me be at ease.

Besides Dahhej, do you have any other project on hand?
Dahhej is the only TV serial in which I am working right now. Though I am not flitting one from one set to the other and working in several serials, I feel that my hands are full with Dahhej because it is taking my entire time especially since it is a daily soap.

How satisfied are you as an actress with the way your role in Dahhej has shaped up till date?
I am, quite happy with the way my role has shaped in the serial, though I am aware of the fact that I have to work hard on my character and learn all the tricks and trades of the business, now that I am here to stay as an actress as far as television is concerned.

How ambitious are you as an actress?
Though it is a fact that I want to experiment with all kinds of roles, like all the other versatile actors who have earned a name on television by essaying various kinds of roles which bring out to the fore their latent talent, the fact is that right now I just want to concentrate only on one serial and be able to prove that I am capable of doing proper justice to not only my role as Kalyaani but also to the serial Dahhej. -Jyothi Venkatesh