Good bahus, betis go bad for telly ratings

By Natalia Ningthoujam

New Delhi, Oct 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) They cried buckets as the good daughters/ daughters-in-law on K-soaps. Now they are out to make others cry by turning bad on screen.

"Kahiin to Hoga" actress Aamna Sharif is the latest to join the list of protagonists turning antagonists in shows.

The audience once saw Aamna as Kashish, the ideal sister and wife who would sacrifice her happiness for others. Now, "Kasautii Zindagii Kay", a reboot of the 2001 show with the same name, has brought her in as the main antagonist Komolika who is set out to ruin Anurag and Prerna's lives. And netizens are loving it. Some called her entry as "surreal" and others are loving her "Komo swag".

"I just feel that today in the entertainment world, be it films or TV, there is no white character anymore. Most characters have shades of grey. That is why it makes the character more interesting. I feel it's more challenging for me as an actor to portray a negative character on screen because there are more variations to play now. And it's okay to play such characters because now people only want to see you in different colours," Aamna told IANS.

She had some big shoes to fill as just a few months before, Hina Khan, again an actress who once played Miss goody two shoes in a long running show titled "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai", had essayed the role of Komolika in the love saga.

Be it taking up a negative role or doing reality shows or movies in home country or overseas, Hina always eyes challenges.

"The focus is on challenging work. The actor inside me is happy and satisfied when I begin my day looking forward to doing something new and end it knowing what I did yesterday, isn't the same as what I am going to be doing tomorrow," Hina told IANS.

"My focus is to grow as an actor and keep entertaining my audience with variations they have never seen me doing before," she added.

While Hina nailed the act, much before her there was another Komolika -- the one who featured in the original "Kasautii Zindagii Kay". Actress Urvashi Dholakia is still loved by the audience for her Komolika act. She pointed out that negative characters play a vital role in Indian daily soaps.

"Antagonists are as important as protagonists. Negative characters add drama to the story, make it interesting. I am happy that the audience accepted me in negative shades," she said.

Moving on from all the Komolikas. Popular actress Sangita Ghosh is still remembered as Pammi from the 2001 show "Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand". The character's traditional Indian values were intact and was seen as the must have daughter-in-law by many.

Now, she is seen as a 'Pishachini' in the show "Divya Drishti" in which she is out to create endless problems in two sisters' lives.

"There is a saying 'Good girls go to heaven (bad girls go everywhere). I think I can be everywhere. If you are good, your conscience needs to be clean. When you are bad, conscience isn't there. I am only talking about roles here. There's a lot more you can try and experiment with, when you go bad. There is no limit. I like the limitlessness," Sangita, who had also played a negative role in "Rishton Ka Chakravyuh", told IANS.

Her "Divya Drishti" co-star Nyra Banerjee took a break from being one of the protagonists to turn antagonist for a while. She had turned into an evil 'Pishachini' whose only motive was to destroy Drishti, her sister.

"So far, I have never essayed a role of an antagonist on any show. I am completely enjoying playing Pishachini and troubling everyone, it's too much fun," Nyra had said.

"As an actor, we must all get the chance to experiment," she had added.

Before entering the "Bigg Boss" house, actress Dalljiet Kaur had played a "twisted" role in "Guddan - Tumse Na Ho Payega". She had also taken up an evil character in last year's show "Qayamat Ki Raat" too. Viewers were not used to seeing her in the negative avatar as they loved her positive roles in shows such as "Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?" and "Chhoona Hai Aasmaan".

"I have done lead roles, played good daughters-in-law, and people used to hug me. Now, people are angry with me. As an artiste, it is challenging. I remember my first scene had me saying 'shut up' to my co-actor. I immediately said sorry after that. Now, I have become a pro at playing bad," Dalljiet had told IANS while shooting for "Guddan..." here.

Talking about her negative stint, she said: "Technically, my first negative role was in 'Qayamat Ki Raat'. I was playing a positive role and her character died. Then, she came back as a negative character.

It was relatively easy for these protagonists to try their hand at negative roles. For actress Debina Bonnerjee, who had played Sita in the mythological show "Ramayan" about a decade ago, it wasn't a cakewalk.

"Fans still want me to play the role of a goddess... and they don't want us (she and her actor-husband Gurmeet) to play anything bold or grey. But I'm exploring my range as an actor. Web series have people playing grey which is normal and accepted by the viewers but for TV viewers there is a mental block," Debina had said.

Her role in "Vish: A Poisonous Story" is far from being a godly person.

"I have been part of many TV shows exploring different genres each time. But in 'Vish...', I have a very strong title role. It is a revenge drama of a 'vishkanya'," said the "Santoshi Maa" actress.

"That might look like an antagonist but has a lot of scope for me to act. I enjoy acting and given a chance, I will do a role that is more performance-oriented rather than being just good on screen every time," Debina said.

Source: IANS