Reena Kapoor: She didn’t want to age,Neha janpandit: She is enjoying playing her age,respt

“Seeta maata ka bhoot sar pe chadha lo.” This was the advice that 20-year-old Neha Janpandit got on her debut in Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki (airing Monday to Friday at 9pm). No surprises there considering that the channel’s flagship show that has completed 750 episodes comes from the Rajshri Productions stable, known for putting family values first.

“In fact, my first scene was lip syncing to a Ramayana doha,” says the 20-year-old, who gave up dreams of a career in medicine to pursue acting.

Perhaps it is destiny that her character Rani is a final-year MBBS student. Rani has entered the show since Woh Rehne Waali… has taken a leap, introducing a fresh crop of cast members. “Reena (Kapoor) didn’t want to age and there was no way we could bring her back yet again as her daughter,” shrugs Kavita Barjatya, of her show’s leading lady who had two births and “god knows how many actors as husbands” during her three-year stint as mother-daughter lookalikes.

So, Reena died on the show, giving her eyes to her adopted blind daughter as a parting gift. “That is what we were looking for in the auditions — a girl with beautiful eyes,” says Kavita. She admits that it was a huge risk to kill off the lead character and replace the entire cast. “But Rajshri believes in taking risks. When everyone was into glossy sets, we moved into a chawl, showing how a rich girl would fare in a poor family.”

As of now, Neha is “enjoying playing my age”. Does that mean running around in westernwear, teasing male classmates? “When do Rajshree heroines flirt?” chides Kavita, in mock disapproval.

But take heart, the dashing Karan Grover is part of the new cast. So, romance should be in the air.