TV actor Preetika Rao, who has done some films in the South, essays a powerful role of a modern girl deeply attached to her family in the recently launched Star Plus show Love Ka Hai Intezaar (LKHI), a beautifully intertwined love story of two generations.
Babushahi.com, Associate Editor, Raju William caught up with this vivacious actor for a chat prior to launch of the new show. She answered a range of questions about the show, her acting career so far and the direction she desires it should shape up. Here are some excerpts:
What’s your character in the show ?
I play the role of a young and vibrant today's girl Mohini who chooses her family over anything else in the world. Mohini has an intriguing past and an equally interesting love story. This character is more modern and will be seen in modern outfits unlike the previous character of Aaliya that I played in Beintehaa on Colors which was more traditional in terms of styling and look.
Is yours’ the lead character in LKHI ?
Yes. Just like other characters are also equally important.
Is your character making appearance in the opening episode or the viewers will have to wait ?
LKHI is a show about two generations and their respective love stories. Till now first generation story was shown but now the new generation has come on board and I am making entry as Mohini, along with my co-star Mohit Sehgal from today August 7.
Preetika Rao with her LKHI co-star Mohit Sehgal
Tell us something about your previous work ?
I started as a model at 14 and my first ad was with Amitabh Bachchan for Cadburys dairy milk. After 45 plus ads I debuted in South and did three South Indian movies including Chikku Bukku with Tamil Super Star Arya in a movie produced by the makers of Aishwarya Rai's movie Jeans. But what got me national recognition was Beintehaa in which I played a modern Muslim girl with traditional values intact. The show was dubbed and released in Indonesia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, South Africa and earned me a great deal of International fans on social media as well.
Why did you choose this show LKHI ?
I come from a film background and have done movies in the South before entering TV. I feel that Indian television somewhere focuses on the masses rather than the classes because that is where the TRP comes from, hence the concepts today are more traditional than modern and upbeat. When producer Siddharth Malhotra of Alchemy Films who had directed We Are Family with Karan Johar called me last year for this show I was more than excited to hear his concept which was no short of a Bollywood film.
The treatment is so classy that I feel I am shooting for a movie. Many other offers came through out the year but since I was directly in contract with the channel, and the subject was better than all other offers, I preferred to wait.
What’s your experience of working with your co-star Mohit Sehgal ?
Mohit Sehgal who stars opposite me in LKHI is a thorough gentleman. He is not only a fine actor but also a very cooperative co-actor to work with and a great human being. We had co-incidentally auditioned together for a show that didn't work out but I still remember him from that audition to be an actor who can help his costar up their performance by his sheer acting skills.
What made you wait before your return to daily soaps after a long gap ?
After Beintehaa I had signed two big shows with two big Producers. Unfortunately the shows got cancelled for the producers and so I ended up losing out on a lot of time in the process. Then I was waiting for LKHI for almost a year so it was a long wait for me. However fortunately my previous show Beintehaa was released in so many countries that fans kept increasing and the fervor was on !
Your sister Amrita Rao is a Bollywood Actress, how come you did not take up any offers from Bollywood ?
I really don't know what kept stopping me each time I got a Bollywood offer, it was almost intimidating. I was offered movies by Pradeep Sarkar, Kumar Taurani and Vashu Bhagnani to name a few. I also skipped the meeting for Aashiqui 2 when they were very keen to meet me. I did work in South movies but quickly took up the TV offer as it was on Colors which is the most popular channel in India and TV is now a huge platform now in India. I am open to short films, indo-western collaboration movies and web series.
What else you would like to share about yourself with the viewers?
I hail from Mangalore, Karnataka and besides acting my other area of interest is singing. And yes, I can fluently speak English, Hindi, Konkani and a bit of Telgu.
What are your expectation from LKHI ?
I’m quite upbeat about it and look forward to a positive viewers' response especially from the younger generation.