Dreams on track

Amarjot Kaur 

India harbours big dreams in impoverished rural neighbourhoods that aspire, and struggle, to match up to the swanky urban spaces—a plot that makes an inspiring hero out of the most ordinary people. The stage is set for yet another story of an aspiring athlete as Star Plus’ Meri Durga prepares its 20-year-old lead actress Srishti Jain to play the role of Durga. 

Her stint begins with meeting the Flying Sikh — Milkha Singh — in Chandigarh on Monday. The previous episodes of Meri Durga elaborated on Durga’s childhood and her dream of becoming an athlete. “She would run behind kites in the paddy fields...little did she know that it was outside the four walls of the classroom where her dreams laid. Much against her father’s wishes, Durga ran for the state-level championship. This is not your regular rona-dhona TV show. It’s about woman empowerment and quite an inspirational show,” says Srishti, who looked evidently motivated. 

On meeting Milkha Singh

This is Srishti’s first visit to the City Beautiful and she seems enamoured with it already, even though she hasn’t seen much of the city. “I did visit Shivalik Bakery, though. A friend of mine recommended it. After that, we visited Milkha Singh’s residence,” she shares. With uncontrollable enthusiasm, Srishti leads us on to her meeting with the only Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games (until Krishna Poonia won the discus gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games). He also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games and represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 

“He is 90 and looks fitter than an average 50-year-old Indian man. We only had 20 minutes, but our conversation swung between his experiences as a sportsperson and how he trained to become an athlete. This information is quite crucial for the role I play on the show,” she says. After pausing for a while, she reassures, “No, but this is not a saas-bahu drama, and Durga’s character is very strong and inspiring. So, I needed motivation too, and now that I have met Milkha Singh, I feel inspired!”  

Story so far

After her father finds out about Durga competing in a state-level championship, she’s forced to put running behind her. On the contrary, her father Yashpal Choudhary (played by Vicky Ahuja) is now vouching to support his daughter and get her back on track to follow her dreams. In a role reversal of sorts, Yashpal, who once discouraged Durga, is now influencing her to pursue what she once enjoyed. “Durga has to understand that she has to chase her dreams in order to achieve them. Even though she has given up on her dreams, sometimes the right kind of motivation helps to get back on track. I represent a girl who’s faced a major setback in her life. From a dreamer, Durga is now someone who has lost her spirit too!”

In a situation like this, will Durga fight back and put the past behind her? To find out, join Yashpal and Durga on Meri Durga, everyday at 6:30 pm on Star Plus.

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