Confidence takes you beyond the normal

Preetika Rao well-known model, actress and singer is known for her famous ‘Cadbury Dairy Milk advertisement with Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan. She is now a part of the ‘Alchemy Film's’ popular Hindi television serial ‘Love Ka Hai Intezaar’ on Star Plus

Excerpts: How is it going so far in the new Hindi serial ‘Love Ka Hai Intezar’?
It’s wonderful to be acting with young dynamic actors like Keith Sequeira, Mohit Sehgal and Sanjeeda Sheikh. Not to forget about the opportunity to work with Soni Razdan, mother of young actress Alia Bhatt.

You have acted in a Telugu film ‘Priyudu’ in the past.How was your experience?
Acting in the Telugu film was a good experience. But somehow I feel that not knowing the language and acting in the film was something that does not bring out the best. I feel it is very important to know and understand the language in which one is acting. Otherwise one cannot bring in the intensity of the feelings or convey the message in right perspective. And for what I understood, one needs to be dug in, within the industry continuously working and signing projects. If you want to do other projects and simultaneously do Telugu films, it is not an acceptable situation in the industry.

How do you see your career taking a shift to television serials from acting in films during the past?
I have acted in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films in the past. About three years ago, I could see that the medium of television was becoming as important, if not more as the film medium. Many top Bollywood actors started hosting shows on television and at that moment, I got an offer to be a part of ‘Beintehaa’ on Colors TV in a prime time slot.

Do you see any difference in terms of popularity while acting in television serials?
Television serials have their own large audience. You would be surprised to know that my serial ‘Beintehaa’ was dubbed in many international languages and continuously aired in countries like Turkey, Indonesia, SouthAfrica andKazakhstan. I have a huge fan following in these countries. Even down South in India, Hindiserials are very popular. I think that television serial moves along the thoughts of contemporary society and the scripts touch the lives of every household. That is the major reason for the popularity over a long period of time as compared to films, which are viewed only during the initial days of release in theatres. One can say that television serials are contemporary Bollywood films in a TVformat.

How easy is it to act in television serials as compared to films?
Acting in television serials is a very demanding job. One has to spend nearly twelve hours on an average everyday. When it comes to films, there is more liberty to sometimes ‘pack up’ for the day. Since the serials are aired on a continuous basis, we hardly get any leave from work. There is instant reaction from time to time and especially with the social media becoming very active, one cannot escape immediate scrutiny or good wishes every second.