Gurdeep Kohli: I never had any qualms about growing old on TV

Gurdeep Kohli has been a part of the small screen for over 19 years now and has never had any apprehensions in trying new roles. The actress, who has recently started doing a new TV show

Humkadam

, says that in all these years, she has been lucky to be getting interesting roles. One reason, she says, could be because unlike many other actors, she has “no qualms about growing old on screen”.

“In these 19 years, I have played different characters and over the years, I have accepted that one has to age on screen and accept roles accordingly. Not many actors do that. But what I make sure is that the character that I am choosing to play – it could be a mother or a mother-in-law – is important to the story,” says Gurdeep. The actress adds that she tries “to select characters that send out a message.” Gurdeep shares, “This is something which I took note of from the beginning of my career. Even when I did Sanjivani, there were so many young girls from small towns who wrote to me to tell how my character inspired them to pursue their dreams.”

Gurdeep Kohli with her two children

When it comes to balancing her professional and family lives, Gurdeep tells us, “There was a time when I wanted to focus only on my family as my kids were young, I think this phase comes in every woman’s life when they have a bigger responsibility and they feel they can take a short break from work. Now, my kids are 11 and six and I think I can take out time for work.”
Gurdeep’s daughter also gives her feedback. “My daughter, who is 11 now, gives me her feedback and tells me if her friends or their parents like my work. At present, I think I can balance both work and personal life well, but in the coming years, if I would feel that my kids need me as they prepare for higher studies etc, I might slow down my pace of work again,” says the actress.

Gurdeep, who has worked in films like '

Rowdy Rathore

' and '

Student Of The Year 2

', says that she would be even looking at doing films now, but only if she can take out time from her TV show shoot schedules. “I will be looking forward to doing some films, but I am not planning anything as of now. My priority will be the work that I am already doing,” she says.