Famous as the nagin of the small screen, Sayantani Ghosh is back as Satyawati in Mahabharat, a show which took three years to be aired. She chats with Sangeeta Yadav about her role in this upcoming epic, experience on Bigg Boss and the re-run of Naaginn

Your upcoming show Mahabharat looks amazing...

I owe the show to producer Siddharth Tewary (Swastik Productions). I gave the auditions for the role of Satyawati, princess of fisherman, queen of the King Shantanu of Hastinapur and great grandmother of the Pandavas and Kauravas, three years back and since then it has been busy — from giving look tests to shooting for the show.

Tell us more about your role.

Satyawati is one of the most important characters in Mahabharat. Very few people know that one of the main reasons for the epic battle was Satyawati. Because of her, Bhishma took the pratigya never to marry. He didn’t marry so he couldn’t become king. By virtue of this, Satyawati’s sons became king. Uss pratigya ke kaaran Hastinapur mein kabhi bhi koi yogya raja nahi ban paya.

How is this Mahabharat different from previous onesIJ

For a common viewer, Mahabharat is all about Arjun, Draupadi, the Pandavas and Kauravas. And that’s the perception Siddharth is trying to break. His aim is to highlight the smaller, untold stories of Mahabharat. Also, the way the show has been presented is different and its visual effects are brilliant.

Any preparations you did for your characterIJ

Mahabharat has been the most challenging show ever for me. I attended a workshop to get the look, body language and diction correct.

Any interesting incident during making of the showIJ

I love perfumes so whenever I stepped on the sets, everybody knew I had arrived. One day, I took an off and somebody from the production team used my perfume and the director said, ‘arrey Sayantani toh bol ke gayi thhi ki Kolkata ja rahi hai. Yeh yahan kaise aa gayiIJ’ That was rather funny.

Your popular TV show  Naaginn is making a comeback on Zee Anmol...

It feels great that people want to see its re-run. I got recognition in the industry by that show. People remember Sridevi and Reena Roy’s roles as nagins on the big screen. It feels great to be called the ultimate naagin of TV.

How did Bigg Boss change your lifeIJ

Bigg Boss is like a mini version of life where you deal with strangers, make adjustments and yet maintain your individuality. When I got this offer, I was sceptical about it. But when I finally did it, I enjoyed it thoroughly. The best part was meeting Salman Khan. When I got eliminated from the Bigg House, people asked me why I didn’t fight. That was because I was not aware of all the plotting happening behind my back. But now I feel that life mein thoda jhagdalu hoona bhi zaruri hai.

One film or TV show you will like to be a part ofIJ

From the movies, I would say Ijaazat (1987). On TV, I would love to be a part of Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa.

What’s been the best phase of your life thus farIJ

There a phase when I was doing four shows — Naaginn, Ghar Ek Sapnaa, Ek Se Badhkar ek and Comedy Circus and working round the clock. It was during this time that I bought a house and a car. That was a good phase of my life.

The look

Satyawati’s costume weighs 25 kg which includes a 10 kg dupatta. We’ve used silver jewellery that has motifs of fish and net in the design. We kept the antariya short at the same time classic. We used wild flowers to decorate the hair. The queen look is in complete contrast to her princess attire. It’s very rich and regal. We used lots of bright colours and heavy embroidery and gold jewellery.

— Nidhi Yasha, costume designer