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Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

Feather in the cap Jhansi is eager to expand her horizons

“Three months from now, I’ll be in a position to spill the beans. My idea is to rise above the Telugu television. I’ll announce my future plans only in February,” she says swishing her glossy tresses that keep kissing her cheeks.

Her 14-year stint with the small screen has made Jhansi a household name. Besides television and cinema, the small screen diva has been successfully hosting stage shows and donning the role of a brand ambassador for many products with remarkable ease. How does she manage the multi-tasking? “It’s a matter of compartmentalising the work. I learnt this art from couples I interviewed for Pelli Pustakam, a programme aired on one of the Telugu channels.”

The popular Talk of the Town and the youthful Naveena is Jhansi’s favourite programmes. “It is not that easy to host a show. It needs a lot of homework. For Naveena, it takes three months to work on the concept. But at the end of the day, the effort is worth the end product as it gives me a peek into the world of youth and children.”

“I am very fortunate, as glamour doesn’t top the priority of television. Had it been the case, I wouldn’t have had my kitty full of programmes,” she confessed candidly.

To be a civil servant and serve the society was her childhood dream. As a child, she remembers having scribbled, quite often, in her notebook the lines: “Jhansi is my name, volleyball is my game and civil services is my aim.” “I feel sad that I could not make it as an IAS officer. I always wanted to have a wider reach as a civil servant, to do something good to the society. Though I try to do things in my own small way by associating with a few service organisations, there is a long way to go,” she says.

A doting mother to five-year-old Dhanya, Jhansi has not drawn out any plans for the young one. “I have had a bitter experience of not being able to achieve my goal. How can I ever think of making the same mistake in my daughter’s case now? Being a single parent, I need to pay extra attention to her,” she says. Dhanya loves watching Pogo and Jhansi is not interested in diverting her focus. “Unlike many other television programmes that do more harm than good to children, Pogo is the best channel for children,” she certifies.

Sitting next to the proprietor of a showroom known for its grand silk sarees, Jahansi has no calms about expressing her love for cottons. Pointing to the shimmer of the green silk saree she wore, she says: “I don’t like silks, as they are made of cocoons. I wear cottons four days a week as it provides livelihood to weavers,” she says with a sense of responsibility.

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