NEW DELHI: From playing a lovable bhabhi in Dekh Bhai Dekh, a ‘naughty nani’ in Shararat and a sensitive dadi in Balika Vadhu — Farida Jalal has essayed various roles on the small screen over the years. Now she’s returning to play ‘Dadi maa’ again and says shows during her heydays were backed by stronger scripts.
Having featured in over 200 films and a couple of TV shows during her almost five-decade career in showbiz, the 65-year-old is now getting ready to appear in Zee TV’s latest offering, Satrangi Sasural — about a girl who enters a household of seven women.
The endearing and ever-so-graceful actor’s overall judgment of the content on Indian TV is that there’s a lack of originality. “TV shows have grown as far as ideas are concerned, and I am happy to see that. But I still feel that the TV shows nowadays cannot be compared with those in my times,” she said.
“We had some great shows in the past. I think the show makers now should turn around and look back at those shows to get some inspiration”.
Then how come she decided to be a part of Satrangi Sasural? “The concept of this show is quite different and unique. This is a good change for me. I play the head of the family, and that is different from what I normally do. My character, Dadi Maa, is a no-nonsense woman, unlike the goody-goody characters that I’ve played in the past,” she said.
On the big as well as the small screen, Jalal has tried to portray different kinds of characters. She started her career as a child artiste with the 1960 hit Chaudhvin Ka Chand, after which she also featured in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby. She was mostly seen playing second fiddle to top heroines in most of her films but the seasoned actor was paired with superstar Rajesh Khanna in Aradhana.
Jalal was also noticed in character roles in movies Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, Dil To Pagal Hai and Raja Hindustani among others. What makes her character in the new show different?
“I think every role is difficult to perform in some way or the other. Being an actor we should be ready for any kind of role that is given,” she said. Even with her experience and repertoire in the industry, Jalal still believes in giving her best to each character she gets. “Every role is crucial to me,” she said, adding that she’d love to do more comedy roles.
“Nowadays there are a lot of shows coming up in this genre. I think it’s a very good change as people [the audiences] like to laugh and relax at the end of the day,” she said. As for her own life, she hardly gets time to do much when she’s working in a daily soap. “Daily soaps don’t give you much time. There are two to three film offers that I have in hand. But I still await a time-span where I can adjust my TV shooting schedules for the films,” she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2014.
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