When dreams take shape

For every middle-class man, the dream of building his own home is not just about bricks and walls; it’s a symbol of pride, stability, and love. Rajendra Chawla, renowned for his powerful performances in popular shows like Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann, Meet, and several others, will now be seen as Srinivas in Zee TV’s upcoming show Lakshmi Niwas, a role that deeply resonates with this very emotion. Much like his character, he too has lived a life driven by the simple yet profound dream of owning a home built on hard work and hope.

In Lakshmi Niwas, Srinivas is a sincere and selfless family man who has spent his entire life caught up in the everyday realities of managing household responsibilities, his children’s education, their marriages, and fulfilling his wife Lakshmi’s wishes for the family. However, in meeting these immediate duties, his own dream of building a home for his wife always took a backseat. Now, with retirement approaching, that long-held promise has once again become the heartbeat of their relationship.

Reflecting on how closely his real life mirrors Srinivas’s story, Rajendra shared an emotional memory from his younger days, one that taught him the true meaning of stability and self-reliance. Rajendra said, “From my perspective, half my life has gone into building a home because I started my journey with that one dream: ek din apna ghar hoga. When you come from a middle-class background, you don’t just dream, you plan, you save, you sacrifice. You grow up seeing your parents turn every small saving into a stepping stone for something bigger. I still remember the day my father took me to the bank and said, ‘Beta, today we’ll make a small, fixed deposit in your name.’ I thought it was a gift. But he smiled and said, ‘I’m not giving you money; I’m giving you a habit to save.’ That stayed with me for life. Over the years, those tiny savings became the foundation of my own home.”