Manasi Salvi: I couldn’t do mean things to my screen daughter

Manasi Salvi

, who entered the show '

Woh Apna Sa

', to play the new Nisha, in November, 2017, quit it recently. Reason: She couldn’t play a scheming mother anymore. The actress says that the mean things that her character did on the show took a toll on her. She shares, “I had my apprehensions about taking up the role, as I had never played a negative character before, but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. However, after my second daughter was introduced on the show, my character started doing mean things to her, including holding a knife to her throat. I have always tried to keep my professional and personal life separate, however, the character started affecting me mentally. I want to play my characters convincingly, but I just couldn't relate to what I was doing on the show. I can be mean to characters my age, but not to a generation younger. I didn't want to go back home carrying the baggage of guilt. Also, since I was in my character mouthing the same dialogues for 12 hours, I must have unintentionally said something nasty to my daughter Omisha, which I realised only after she gave me a second look. Her friends know me as this cool aunty and they started saying, ‘Omisha’s mother is doing evil things, which she can’t be doing’. That’s when I decided to quit the show.”

The actress couldn’t have asked for a better timing, as even the makers had planned to end her track around the same time when she made up her mind to put in her papers. She says, “Woh... has been on air since a year-and-a-half and one has to spruce up the drama by introducing twists at regular intervals for better ratings. The show was going through that transition and I was blessed that it happened just when I made up my mind. I conveyed my concern to the producers and they weaved my exit accordingly. It was amicable.” Though the journey has ended, the actress is happy as the experience of working on the show has been a fulfilling one. “I have never worn western outfits and have mostly been sari-clad on all my shows. I was breaking away from that image for the first time with this show. Saris help you hide what you don’t want to show. With western outfits, comes the pressure of keeping your waist in check. It leads you to follow a strict diet and exercise regimen, which is hard work. I am glad I could get rid of that phobia. Besides, I am happy that I could grow younger on TV, as after playing a saas to the heroine (Disha Parmar) on a show, I played her sautan on this one,” she signs off.