TVnewbies Tejaswi Prakash and Helly Shah were in town recently to shoot for Swaragini, an oven-fresh Colors show (Monday to Friday, 9.30pm). Since the drama about two warring families is set in Calcutta, the cast and crew had set up base here to shoot some vital portions. t2 caught up with the two young protagonists.
What are your characters in Swaragini?
Helly: Swara is very confident. She is modern, but not badtameez. She hails from a very liberal Bengali family. I have not done any research on Bengalis, but I have started learning a few Bengali words. I am a Gujarati and face difficulty speaking in Bengali. We have a Bengali cameraman who helps and Tanimaji (Sen, who plays Swara’s grandmother) guides us to get the perfect Bengali accent.
Tejaswi: I play Ragini. She is obedient and down to earth and belongs to a Marwari family. I am a Maharashtrian and didn’t really have to understand the nuances of being a Marwari because I have to speak in Hindi on the show.
What is it like shooting in Calcutta?
Helly: We have to wake up at 3am every day!
Tejaswi: Mornings are very early in Calcutta compared to Mumbai. In Calcutta, the sun rises and sets early. That’s why we have to get up and start everything early. We roll by 5am.
Helly: We have shot in almost all the famous Calcutta locations like The Victoria Memorial, Prinsep Ghat, Millennium Park, Hooghly river and Howrah Bridge. We have also travelled in trams and on hand-pulled rickshaws.
Tejaswi: It is a beautiful city. It is clean. People follow traffic rules.
Have you shopped?
Tejaswi: We have bought saris from the shops on Park Street. I wanted to buy a small Durga idol. We got saris, bags and many things. We gave lists to our mothers, they went out and picked up things for us.
Helly: We also gave good business to the puchkawallahs! And we are carrying back bags of sweets.
The two of you met while working on the show. Tell t2 about each other.
Tejaswi: Helly is full timepass! I think that is the best way to describe her. She keeps on talking. If you want to chit-chat for a long time, then she is the best company. She knows which phone has the best camera... she is a selfieholic. She says: ‘Abhi kuch karne ko nahin hai, chal aaselfie le lete hain!’
Helly: We are new friends. We get along very well and have a great time on set.
How do you spend idle time on set?
Tejaswi: We talk, eat and listen to music. We have similar tastes in music. We love slow Hindi tracks, but I also listen to English songs.
We hear that you two are juggling work and studies?
Tejaswi: I am pursuing engineering in electronics and telecommunications from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology. I am in the final year. It is difficult because one has to maintain an attendance percentage.
Helly: I am a student of first year. I am doing chemistry from IGNOU.
Calcutta-based actress Tanima Sen debuts on national tv with Swaragini as Swara’s grandmother. “My dialogues are in a Bengali accent. My broken Hindi was necessary for the show. I am teaching Bengali to the other actors. They are so scared of my Bengali that they are quickly learning Hindi!” laughed the veteran actress, seen in Bengali TV shows like Janmabhoomi and Roopkatha