Nimisha Vakharia, Reema Lagoo and Natasha Rana

Three actresses who play the saucy saas to perfection — Reema Lagoo (Saasuma of Tu Tu Main Main), Nimisha Vakharia (Kokila of Teen Bahuraniyan) and Natasha Rana (Dhara of Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan) — speak about their reel-life characters.

What was the crux of your character when you signed the serial?

Nimisha Vakharia: My character Kokila’s relationship with her bahu can be compared to Tom and Jerry. Kokila never misses an opportunity to give her bahu grief.

Reema Lagoo: Saasuma was never a dark character. She had many shades to her. Of course, competition between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is bound to be there and so the jealousy element was highlighted in Tu Tu Main Main.

Natasha Rana: I was simply told to make life hell for my daughters-in-law and that’s exactly what I did.

Do you enjoy playing the mean saas?

Nimisha Vakharia: It’s nice to live the life of a very different person for a few hours each day.

Natasha Rana: I was horrified that I had to play such a wicked character. When I had to shove or push (daughter-in-law) Saraswati around, I’d often start crying!

Do you think people like your characters exist in real life?

Nimisha Vakharia: If they exist then all I can say is that they are very interesting women and I would love to meet them.

Reema Lagoo: There is always a certain degree of exaggeration in comedy. I did not base my character on any person as such. What I liked about the serial was that at the end of the day, despite their tiffs, the two women genuinely loved each other.

Natasha Rana: I was discussing this with one of my friends the other day explaining that since I find it so difficult to even enact such a role, it’s not possible for such people to exist. But my friend disagrees. She said that I would be surprised at the cruelty that exists. I am glad I’ve never seen that ugly side of life. In such cases, single people are better off!

If you were the daughter-in-law, how would you react?

Nimisha Vakharia: I would never be able to bear as much as Manjeet does. I would tell my mother-in-law that I’m a working woman, I can afford my own place and I would just move out.

Reema Lagoo: Tit for tat would be my policy. In fact, I would deal with her in exactly the same way that Supriya deals with her.

Natasha Rana: I don’t think my character, Dhara, even deserves to live. The best way to deal with a mother-in-law like her would be to hang her upside down. If my mother-in-law threw me out of the house I’d just make myself comfortable in the courtyard and wave out to my mother-in-law from there!

Do you think such serials affect the audience negatively?

Nimisha Vakharia: On the contrary I think it motivates audiences to improve. People are scared of these images and consequently want to change themselves. I know of a mother-in-law who tells her bahu that she is beginning to sound like Komolika whenever they have a tiff!

Reema Lagoo: Indian audiences are very discerning. If we emulated everything on television then every Indian woman would be married four-five times. And imagine if every old woman nurtured the dream of living as long as Baa of Kyunki!

Natasha Rana: Today, these channels show such horrific scenes. I think people are used to seeing cruelty and are numbed to others’ pain. Daily soaps are full of depression and yet they run for years; so I guess as Indians we have become sadistic.

How did your mothers-in-law react to your characters?

Nimisha Vakharia: She is very unhappy with Kokila’s wicked ways. She keeps asking me when I will become good. Whenever she visits the temple, the other women ask her to pray hard to grant Kokila the wisdom to change her ways and stop troubling poor Manjeet. My five-year-old daughter has been scaring kids in the schoolbus saying, ‘My mother is Kokila, she will beat you up!’

Reema Lagoo: My in-laws thoroughly enjoyed the show. And my mother-in- law used to say that I had to be absolutely crazy to enact such a role.

Natasha Rana: My mother-in-law only saw me playing lead roles before she passed away and she was very proud of me.

Do you think a daughter-in-law can ever take the place of a daughter?

Nimisha Vakharia: I don’t think a daughter-in-law should try to take the place of a daughter because then the husband and wife would become brother and sister!

Reema Lagoo: Of course, but for that to be achieved both parties have to make an effort.

Natasha Rana: Of course, the word daughter is already there in daughter-in-law.

What advice would you offer a young bride who has to deal with a mother-in-law like you?

Nimisha Vakharia: Darna mana hai.

Reema Lagoo: The way to a mother-in-law’s heart is through her stomach.

Natasha Rana: I would tell her to feed her mother-in-law bitter karela and neem everyday.

Kiran Mehta (Bollywood News Service)