Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai fame actress Nidhi Uttam to play ‘pehli maa’ in Doosri Maa

Nidhi Uttam, who is best remembered as Nandini in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, is back on TV two years after her cameo appearance in Aghori. The actress will be seen in Doosri Maa. She says, “In a nutshell, I am the pehli maa of doosri maa. I will play the mother of a young actor. There will be a lot of flashbacks. The story goes around my character. I will be the catalyst for the making of doosri maa.It is a beautiful story based in Uttar Pradesh. Everything worked out wonderfully for me along with the fact that I am well-versed with the dialect and culture of the state, as I am from Kanpur (UP). So, I understand the nuances of the character. I have an upper hand in terms of culture and language (smiles).”
The actress has no qualms about playing mother but only to child artistes. She shares, “I have played a mother in YRKKH and it was a different experience. In Doosri Maa, I play Mala, a single mother, who passes away at a young age. The story then focusses on the child missing his first mother, and then how he warms up to the second mother. I haven’t been apprehensive about playing a mother, sister, or wife, but the age of my character and the onscreen child’s age do govern my decision of taking up a show. I would be fine if the child is growing up in the story organically but I won’t be comfortable with the idea of playing mother to grown-up actors.”
She feels that she didn’t get typecast as a sister because she took up different characters following a successful stint on Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. She says, “First, I won’t restrict Nandini as just the male lead’s sister. My character was given equal importance as the protagonist. I was happy with what I got to perform as Nandini and the love I received from the audience. I was satisfied and I thank my stars that I played that character. I didn’t get typecast in the role because I got a lot of performance-oriented characters. I have been doing good work. I choose my characters based on the scope I get to perform.”
Nidhi now intends to balance TV, films, and OTT. “I was active on TV for a long time, till 2020, after which I was finalised for a couple of films. So, I was concentrating more on films and OTT. But now I am back on TV and balancing my career in films, OTT and commercials alongside,” she signs off.