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Prime time blessings!

the divine look! Shantipriya.

We know it’s raining gods on the small screen. There are two Mahabharatas in the pipeline but before that two Vaishno Devis are already on air. The actors don’t mind: It’s an opportunity to show their talent in a new realm.

Says Shantipriya, who plays Vaishno Devi in Sahara One’s “Mata Ki Chowki”, “It’s sheer providence. Otherwise why would any producer zero in on someone who has not been around in the industry for more than a decade?” Like many mortals, Shantipriya also believes it is the goddess who chooses you and not the other way round. No longer the bubbly actor who made her debut with Akshay Kumar in Saugandh, Shantipriya says, “The series is a mix of mythology and social drama. Here I have an opportunity to play characters ranging from 18 to 70. I play the goddess as well as her human incarnations. It gives me an opportunity to display a range of emotions.”

She says her life has changed after taking up the assignment. “I have given up non-vegetarian food and have suddenly started feeling the pressure of being the chosen one.” Nobody wishes her with “hi” or “hello” these days. “Everybody greets me with folded hands and the moment I get into the costume, everybody on the sets chants Jai Mata Di.”

Roopa Dutta.

The case of Roopa Dutta is no different. Playing Vaishno Devi in 9X’s Jai Maa Vaishno Devi, Roopa feels blessed. Ask her age and she declares, “More than 5,000 years.” She lives the character day in and day out. Roopa has given up her favourite seafood for the role. Once in the costume, she also becomes the centre of attraction. “Some people even try to touch my feet.”

She feels, “Besides big, deep eyes, playing god requires a glowing face and that comes only if you are disciplined and spiritual in real life. Also, continuity is a big thing in mythologicals in comparison to social drama. The make-up and props have to be right all the time, otherwise people may raise objections.”

Roopa had to get used to working with chroma technique. “I sit in front of a blue background feeling that I am sitting on a lion. Later this blue background is removed, a lion is inserted, and the audience cannot make out the difference. Similarly there are shots in the air. In such circumstances, you have to get your emotions right, otherwise the final result could look silly.”

Unlike Shantipriya, Roopa is a relatively new face. She has done a Bengali film, a serial with Balaji Telefilms and advertisements for popular products such as Crocin and Bata. “It is not that the role has suddenly turned me religious. I am well-versed with our rituals.”

She also feels it is better for children to watch mythologicals than social dramas. The latter can have an adverse impact on young minds. In the past, actors who have played gods on the small screen have not found opportunities in films, but Roopa is unperturbed. “These days the television is making a big impact. If I am noticed, the world is waiting for me out there.”

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