It’s good to see people paying to watch a play today: Alka Badola Kaushal in Lucknow

Not new to Lucknow, 'Kumkum' and 'Qubool Hai' fame actress 'Alka Badola Kaushal' was in the city some time back for the promotion of her serial Shaadi Ke Siyape. Alka, who has lived in the city and has worked here in a few projects too, talking about her connections with Lucknow, says, "Though my family is from Delhi, we have also lived in Lucknow and Prayagraj for a few years. Plus, I have a lot of family friends in Lucknow, mostly in

Gomti Nagar

and I have cousins too who reside here in Mahanagar. So, you see, I have many connections with Lucknow. This is the reason why Lucknow visits have always been very frequent for me."
Alka adds, "In fact, I was here last year too for some professional reasons and since I had a lot of time at hand, I went around the city and explored it once again. This time too I will be going to Aminabad to shop for some chikan stuff for myself and my family."
Adding further she said, "I have shot several times in the city while living in Hazratganj. This city is extremely close to my heart and I have some of the fondest memories of the time I was shooting here for my short film last year in November. Lucknow, as we all know, is every food lover’s paradise! Though it is well-known for its non-vegetarian delicacies like kebabs, I am a vegetarian and enjoy all the delicious vegetarian delicacies the place has to offer, plus the chaat and paani ke batashe. Especially Sharma ji ki chai which is very famous, it’s the best chai I’ve ever had and the mouth-watering sweets from Ram Asrey are like a blessing for a sweet lover. I plan to take time out in the day and enjoy some great food in the city."

Alka Badola Kaushal (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)
Coming from a theatre background, Alka believes that the medium till date helps the actors to groom themselves better. "Doing theatre helps a lot in acting. It doesn’t mean if a person does not have a theatre background, he or she can’t act. But definitely, a person with a theatre background is one step ahead of the person who does not have knowledge of this live medium of acting. There was a phase in between, where people used to ditch theatre and were moving towards just watching movies. But that is over now. Today, if you ask me, I think people are big time into watching plays. Today, the best part is that the audience actually buys tickets for the plays and the sight of a jam-packed auditorium in a paid play is common nowadays. I’d say content wapas aa gaya hai plays mein, aapko quality plays dekhne ko milenge. There are artistes, I mean great artists, who left theatres for TV but are now getting back to doing plays," she opined.
Apart from acting, Alka also tried her hand at production and produced a few shows including Naya Daur and

Saturday Suspense

. And the actress feels that a businessman can do production way better than an artist. "Production is a very different ball game and is not like acting or anything we actors do. Production mein business-minded hona bahot zaruri hai and that is why I think it is very difficult. Being a female producer and doing well without having many difficulties, I think some credit goes to the men also because of the sense of acceptability among them. In our industry men accept the fact that a female is her boss, and aajkal to

Bollywood

mein bahot female producers achha kar rahi hain," she said.
— Saad Abbasi