Akshit Sukhija and Mahima Makwana, who will soon be seen in TV show Shubhaarambh, are sure their chemistry on screen will work wondersWell begun is half done!

Sheetal

kshit Sukhija, who will essay the lead role in the show Shubhaarambh, started his career as a model. Born in Abohar, Punjab, his parents settled in Delhi from where he moved to Mumbai to pursue his dreams.

Says Akshit, “I am excited to work on television, especially on a show that has such a different concept. I have an intuition that it will be a long-term show.”

To prepare for the role of a Gujarati boy, the first thing he had to do was hide his Punjabi accent. He adds, “By my look, I could easily come off as a Gujarati, but I had to train myself to be well-versed with the language. The toughest part was hiding my Punjabi accent.”

Living in Mumbai for a year or so, he acknowledges the polite nature of Mumbaikars, as they don’t find reasons to fight like people in Delhi! On the other hand, he adds, “I do miss the food of Delhi.”

A die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan, Akshit says, “The struggle is ongoing till I reach where my idol SRK is. He started with television and I hope my new show Shubhaarambh will be as lucky as Fauji and Circus was for him.”

Leading lady

His better half for the reel, Mahima Makwana, who was last seen in Mariam Khan— Reporting Live, will be playing a hardworking and responsible girl, Rani, who tries to make both ends meet for her family. “Well, look out for our chemistry on screen,” she beams.

Mahima confesses how she is a workaholic and dreads sitting idle. She adds, “Even in the show, I am playing a girl who is doing four to five jobs just to support her family, where her father is a drunkard.”

In the industry since she was 10 years of age, Mahima sure has an upper hand over Akshit, butthe latter is happy about it. Says Akshit, “She taught me how to dance when we were shooting together. I have not explored dancing yet, so she was really helpful. We were strangers at the beginning, but now have learnt how to coordinate well.”

For the show, the initial shoot was done in Sidhpur, Gujarat; Mahima adds, “We really enjoyed ourselves in Gujarat and tried the local food. The shooting was hectic, so did not get much time to go for shopping but still it was fun.”

She refrains from naming her best work so far, “I think whatever I have done till now has made me the person I am today. I have always acted my age and been lucky that way. From age 10 to now being 20, I have been offered the roles that I should have taken. So each show has been my best.”

sheetal.dadhwal@tribunemail.com