In conversation with the actress about her comic side, the roles she’s taking up and the road ahead…
Anita Hassanandani really needs no description. We loved her for her girl-next-door image and we now love to hate her as the selfish vamp, Shagun, on Star Plus’ Yeh Hai Mohabattein. After a series of different roles, the actress is now trying her hand at comedy too. Anita is now part of Colors’ new show, Comedy Nights Bachao which is loosely based on the concept of a Roast, only this will be a family roast. In an EXCLUSIVE conversation with BollywoodLife, the actress spoke about her experience being part of the new show, her journey so far and her plans for future. Read excerpts from the our conversation…
How’s comedy treating you?
It’s very new, it’s very exciting, it’s very challenging. It’s not something I’ve tried before. So I’m hoping that few episodes down the line I might open up and it will get better with time.
So how’s your sense of humour?
With my friends and closed ones, it’s not that bad. I basically take time to open up. That’s why I think may be three or four episodes down the line I’ll be better and more comfortable… Otherwise I have a pretty decent sense of humour, at least I think so (laughs)! It’s just my nature that I’m a little reserved. In fact initially people in the industry and otherwise too, would think that I’m so arrogant. But it’s not that I was meaning to be arrogant. It’s just that as a person I’m very quite.
Your show ventures into insult comedy and is very similar to a roast… Should we expect something like the AIB Roast?
I’d say we are in a different zone. AIB was to another level. Though the concept is similar, here it is pretty controlled. It’s a nice happy zone. Actually, when we shot for the first episode, my thought was the same, ‘what if it’s taken in a bad way or if someone gets upset,’ but the reaction we got was amazing. They (Mika Singh and Sohail Khan) were enjoying every bit of it.
Aren’t the guests in on the joke?
I don’t think it is very detailed. They obviously know (that we’ll be cracking jokes on them), but they don’t know every joke.
Do you consider yourself to be a good comedian?
See, luckily this is all scripted. I’m not a mimic and I’m not a stand-up comedian; that’s not my cup of tea. But I’m an actor. If I have scripts in advance I can pull it off. With every rehearsal I also have my inputs and the comfort with my partner is pretty good, so gradually it’s setting in.
Moving to your other show, how do you like your character Shagun?
Well, the best part about Shagun is that she has so many shades. As Shagun I’ve got a chance to portray every shade that is part of a real person. When I took it up, I was under the impression that it will be an out and out negative and all I’ll have to do is raise my eyebrows and give a few expressions. But Shagun has been so different, she’s been heartbroken, she’s been emotional, she’s been hated, she’s hated people, so it’s been a combination of everything. And now she’s also realized that she’s been wrong in the past and has become a better human being. But even now, if something bad happens to her, there is a possibility that she can turn bad again. Like it happens in real life, if you’ve been through something bad, you turn bitter. So Shagun has been very exciting.
Do you think characters like Shagun exist in real life?
I’m sure there are! There are a lot of women who get married for money, there are lot of women who get really bitter when something bad happens to them and they want to take revenge.
How has your journey as an actor been so far?
Oh, it’s been beautiful. I’m not really from the industry and started at the age of 16, but I’ve got a really warm welcome. I’ve done TV and I’ve done films and I’ve done flop films. Actually that (flop films) has taught me a lot. So I’ve had beautiful ups and downs and now that I’m married, I’m content and look back, it’s just been really really nice.
You said you’ve learnt a lot from your failures. Please elaborate…
For Koi Aap Sa, I had really worked very hard and I was kind of sure that it’s going to do really well. I had put in so much effort and it was such a beautiful character, and when that flopped I had gotten into depression. So for six months I was completely crying and I was really depressed and I had put on weight. So it kind of taught me that you shouldn’t let your career affect you so much. Career has its own place and your life has its own. It made me appreciate that I have started from no where and achieved so much. So I shouldn’t be very greedy. Not that the fire died in me, but I learnt that it is more important to be content in real life, to be happy with your family. That’s more important.
You are very well connected with fans on social media. How do you get time to interact with them?
No matter how big an actor, or director or producer you are, you do check your phone. It’s about how you feel or how you want to make them (fans) feel is what matters. Honestly, the amount of fame I’ve received after YHM, I’ve never achieved that much fame before. It’s not that I havn’t done hit shows before. I have done shows like Kabhi Sautan Kabhi Saheli, but well social media wasn’t quite active back then. So to actually get their letters, gifts and comments really means a lot to me.
Have you also received hate mail?
Oh yes, I have! The first hate mail I received, I cried. My husband then consoled me and asked me to take it as a compliment that I’m doing the negative character so well. I was very upset because I’ve done so many sweet characters and now I’m experimenting. SO I couldn’t understand why people are sending all the hate mail. It did hurt a little but I get more love mails so it doesn’t count.
Any Bollywood plans?
I’ve worked in Salman Khan’s upcoming film, Hero. It’s not a very lengthy role, but it’s nice. I’m playing Athiya’s Bhabhi, it’s a very positive, nice and cute character. And it’s a great film. It was nice to actually shoot for an A-grade film with Salman as the producer and Nikhil as the director. You have star sons and daughter being launched. It was wonderful.