Love thy neighbour?

Manpriya Singh

So, is grass always greener on the other side? Ask a husband who, although in love with his wife, has got his eyes fixed firmly on the neighbour.

Can’t really leave the wives out too; since they want their husbands to be like the neighbour. What you have is a story of relatable plot, funny situations and lot of onscreen banter though those who like their humour, sarcastic, witty and satirical might be a tad disappointed with &TV’s Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hain! but not the ones who like their comedy, simple, everyday and innocent.

If the rating points are to be believed, then the days of good old humour could well be back. “The problem with television is that these days it is typical. At the end of a very hard day’s work too if you have to see a girl crying on television then what’s the point,” questions Saumya Tandon, over what all is wrong with the small screen industry before moving onto what made her choose the role of Anita.

On her Chandigarh tour, she is joined by her onscreen husband played by Asif Sheikh. Together they stand united on the script. He chips in, “The characters are very real and that makes them very relatable.”

Coming from an onscreen hen-pecked husband, that’s a new one. He laughs, “Yes, I relate with the character because like all the wives, my onscreen wife too wants me to help with the chores and yet be romantic at the end of the day.”

As for Saumya, the character of a hoity toity urban wife running the house was very well written. “Because in today’s television industry we either have a woman who is too good or too evil. There is no scope for grey which ironically is the only colour reflecting all human kind.”

For the uninitiated, the show is about two neighbours and their wives. At play are also appearances. While Vibhuti acts as if he is a successful insurance agent but is actually an idler, Manmohan is a small time innerwear vendor who pretends to be a big business man.

Sister to bhabi

Having hosted a cookery show, played a popular cameo as Kareena’s sister Roop in Jab We Met, apart from a host of other anchoring stints, return to fiction after seven years was a surprise for Saumya. “Initially it was a big no for me because I just did not want to be television’s bhabi,” she laughs.

Well, acting itself was an incident. “I was more into stage shows and hosting and that’s what I enjoy the most that somehow led to acting.”

For the love of acting

Theatre it is for Asif, his first love. Meanwhile, his filmography runs as long as can be and goes back to the days of India’s first television soap opera Hum Log till the quite lately in Yess Boss, Tanhaa and Don’t Worry Chachu.

Then there’s a string of Bollywood movies all through the nineties and well after. At 51, he can truly be the grand man of television but looks almost like a boy next door.

“There is no strict or particular fitness regime but I make it a point to eat selective, no alcohol, ample sleep, good exercise. Also co-ordinate your timings with sunrise and sunset and that helps.” A discipline he’s followed through out, being also a national-level scuba diver. Meanwhile, he’s just a neighbour with a mild crush.

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