Alpana Buch reveals how she finds vulnerability beneath Baa’s anger in ‘Anupamaa’

Mumbai: Alpana Buch, who plays Leela Shah, popularly known as Baa, in the television show ‘Anupamaa’, has opened up about her approach to portraying the character’s anger and emotional complexity.

In an exclusive quote shared with IANS, the actress said she looks beyond the dialogues to understand the vulnerability and fear that often lie beneath Baa’s stern exterior, bringing a deeper emotional layer to her performance. Alpana shared, “On a daily soap the script is a moving train. You cannot stop it because you would have written the scene another way. If a line makes Baa cruel without a reason or soft without a reason, I say so. Sometimes they keep it. Sometimes one look, one pause, and one Gujarati shading in the Hindi is enough to shift the meaning.”

Alpana feels that Baa’s anger often comes from a place of vulnerability. “I remember days when the page had Baa only scolding, and my instinct said she is also afraid—afraid of the house changing, afraid of being left behind. I did not rewrite the dialogue. I played the fear under the anger. The line stayed. The scene changed.”

Furthermore, talking about her approach to emotionally demanding scenes, Alpana said the tight turnaround of a daily soap leaves little time for extensive preparation. “First I read the scene once for facts: who is in the room, what Baa wants, what she is not saying. Then I stop reading it as literature and start hearing it.”

"If the audience only enjoys Baa as a villain, I have failed her. She can be unfair. She should not be empty,” she said.

Alpana also revealed that there is a clear distinction between her own personality and that of Baa. “If I feel like agreeing, forgiving quickly, or laughing off a slight, that is me. Baa does not let go so easily.” Ultimately, she believes the character works when the anger has an emotion underneath it—something the audience may not always see, but can feel.”

On a related note, “Anupamaa” also stars Rupali Ganguly, Adrija Roy, Shivam Khajuria, and Arvind Vaidya, among others. Alpana Buch has been an integral part of Star Plus’ popular television show ‘Anupamaa’ since its premiere in 2020. She essays the character of Leela Hasmukh Shah, fondly known as Baa, who plays a significant role in the life of the show’s protagonist, Anupamaa, as her mother-in-law.

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