As the comic Kajal bhai, who used to flaunt her contacts with film producers in the '90s show Hum Paanch, Bhairavi Raichura has now turned producer with a new TV show, Chhal - Sheh Aur Maat, a thriller on Colors.
Says Bhairavi, "It's been 18 years since the show but for people I am still Kajal Bhai. They still stop me and talk about Kajal's antics. It's great that they still remember me."
Though Bhairavi went on to do other roles, it is only with Balika Vadhu that to some extent she could shed her image in which she played the main protagonist's mother.
Her decision to turn producer was a next step in her creative pursuits. She approached the channel with an idea and they were extremely receptive about it.
"I look at the production side while my business partner Nandita Mehra oversees the creative aspects. We have clear-cut roles."
Interestingly, she is still in contact with her Hum Paanch co-star Vidya Balan. "We do we meet when time permits. We were all so young at that time that shooting was a blast for us.
All of us would eat together and have great fun even when the camera was on." She feels Vidya has not changed all these years. Professionally she has moved ahead, but personally she is still the same person. The way she talks, behaves is the same even though she is now a big star."