Payal Sarkar

Indrani Halder, Roopa Ganguly, Sayantani Ghosh… Payal Sarkar. Who that? The latest in a growing line of Calcutta girls making a mark among the saas-bahus in Mumbai is the leading lady of Sony Entertainment Television’s weekday primetime soap Waqt Batayega... Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya.

“The character of Rudra is very close to my heart. The moment I was given the story and the character narration, I knew this was a serial I had to be a part of,” Payal tells t2 from Mumbai. Adopted into a rich family, Rudra is a simple, girl next door whose life takes a turn when she gets married into a family guarding a secret.

The star cast has been the icing on the cake for the 24-year-old-girl from Lake Town. “It’s such an enriching experience working with such gifted actors like Mukesh Khanna, Kishori Shahane and Nishigandha Wad. Roopa Ganguly and Deepak Parashar (who play Rudra’s in-laws) have also made a recent entry into the show,” gushes an excited Payal.

Payal’s Rudra has struck a chord with the viewer. Something that has even survived a 45 day lay-off when she came down with a severe bout of chicken pox. “The producers were kind enough to change the storyline in order to accommodate my absence from the show,” smiles Payal.

That meant taking the serial on a different track and bring in the likes of Rucha Gujarati. “But for me things are exactly the way they were when I exited a month-and-a-half ago. My character and my part in the serial hasn’t changed at all,” stresses Payal.

She may have popular serials like Waqt Batayega and Anurag Basu’s Love Story in her kitty, but Payal hasn’t gone on a signing spree. Not yet. “I just want to concentrate on Waqt right now, particularly since I have just come back from my illness. But yes, I should be looking at other offers soon,” says the actress who is game for Tollywood but not Bengali television. “I am doing well on national television. I see no reason to try my hand at local television,” she states firmly.