Dalljiet Kaur who came to limelight with the shows Kulvaddhu & Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon is back after three years, this time with Kaala Teeka. She talks to Sangeeta Yadav about her playing a positive character, how she came out of an abusive relationship and how she is bringing up her son
What twists and turns will your character Manjiri bring in Kaala TeekaIJ
Manjiri has started taking steps to fight age old oppression. She tries to protect her daughter Kaali when she is mistreated and takes a stand when something wrong happens.
You are playing a Bihari for the first time...
To understand the character, I researched on how Biharis talk and dress. I studied their body language as well. But since Manjiri is educated, we don’t have to use the local dialect and that worked to my advantage.
The show talks about an age old superstition. Do you believe in itIJ
Education, money, no money, living in a metro or small town has nothing to do with your beliefs. It’s the situation that makes you superstitious. You keep vrat, do pooja, hawan and kirtan. There was a phase in my life when I was depressed. I started believing in numerology and changed the spelling of my name to Dalljiet. This may sound bizarre but it helped me overcome my problem.
Why did Kulvaddhu end so abruptlyIJ
There were some technical and creative issues. Though the show shut down in four months, it grabbed a lot of eyeballs. People loved my character Niyati. It brought me into the limelight.
Soap’s shelf life is being reduced to a few months. WhyIJ
Earlier, there was only Doordarshan that had limited shows like Mahabharat. The audience had few options. Gradually a lot of channels came in and new shows started being produced. TV is getting difficult to survive. Due to a plethora of shows in various genres, it has divided the audience. School and college goers watch youthful content, romance and reality shows, housewives watch saas-bahu sagas and family dramas. It’s difficult to bring all sorts of audiences together.
You turned down Bigg Boss. WhyIJ
Had I said yes to Bigg Boss, it would have been only for money. For me, to pick a show when my child is only two-and-a-half is not because the show is big or the channel is big or I’m getting the main lead. It’s only about what I will earn. For me, it is about survival. In any case, I would have been the most boring contestant on Bigg Boss and the first contestant to get eliminated.
How is motherhood treating youIJ
He is my only reason to be alive. If my son would not have been there in my life, I would not have been able to bounce back from my bad relationship and gone into a severe depression. When I see my son, I can’t afford to be depressed.
How has your son Shaarav taken your separation with Shaleen BhanotIJ
Shaleen was never there even when I was pregnant. My son has no entity of a father. It’s not that he is missing anything.
How difficult was it for you to get out of a bad relationshipIJ
Very. I have strong family beliefs and always hoped that no matter how bad a relationship is everything works out eventually. As a wife, I was taking all the torture. But as a mother it wasn’t possible. I told my husband Shaleen that I may be his wife but he was now talking to a mother. A mother would not stay quiet. Also, the entire concept of your parents supporting their child even though he is in the wrong is bad.
How difficult is it for you to make a comeback after three yearsIJ
I was flat broke and depreseed but I had to provide for my son so I had to work. I lost 25 kg in five months. But I wanted people to see me as a person who was self confident and not somebody they had to pity and give work to.