Mouli Ganguly (centre) felicitates Dorjee and Kaur on Thursday. Picture by Aranya Sen

Adventurous, independent but committed to the family — she’s all these and much more. The quintessential middle-class girl-next-door has taken up a career not too many women would dare dream of.

As Saaksshi in Sony Entertainment’s forthcoming serial, Mouli Ganguly will be a fair distance from what she has become famous for — bickering with her on-screen mother-in-law in Eakta Kapoor’s Kahin Kissi Roz.

Happy to break off from her “feminine and fragile image”, the Mumbai-based Calcutta-born girl plays an undercover cop, chasing goons and even landing an occasional kick.

At a city hotel on Thursday, Mouli met up with two real-life role models — deputy superintendent of police (North 24-Parganas) Jacqueline Dorjee and cab driver Jasbir Kaur

Two women who have charted courses different from the run-of-the-mill. “Both have chosen careers that often needs one to face stiff opposition from various quarters. Saaksshi is like them, too,” said Mouli, who had earlier met a string of successful women from various fields in Mumbai and Delhi, as part of the Sony Entertainment-sponsored tour.

“Nowadays, many women are eager to join the police force, but seats are limited,” said deputy superintendent Dorjee, in charge of the immigration check-post at the Tetrapol.

“The perception of our male colleagues is also changing. Some appreciate our work, while a few others know we are good but would not like to admit it,” added Dorjee, hinting at the challenges Mouli was likely to face while cracking a male bastion.

The youth-oriented serial is in line with Sony’s efforts to strengthen its weekend programmes. “We were looking for a young face who could portray a lot of action but also be rooted to family values. Mouli was our first choice,” said a Sony spokesperson.

To play the perfect action cop, Mouli is taking tips on karate and shooting from professionals. “I am trying to deliver the right kind of kick-box, not the type a tomboy would do. My trainers have asked me to do regular stretch-outs and avoid injuries,” added the ex-student of South City College.

For the time being, she is busy shuttling between Calcutta and Mumbai, juggling roles of two very different times and types — the other being Jaba in Sahara Manoranjan’s Shri Bimal Mitra’s Sahib Biwi Gulam.