Mumbai: Preetika Rao, who has a chequered career behind her as a model, journalist and now actress, can`t believe the impact of her serial ‘Beintehaa’. She says her character Aaliyah is a "serious responsibility on my shoulder".
"When I took up the offer, I knew I was getting into something special. I loved the storyline and my character Aaliyah`s spunk spirit and social concerns.
"But I never imagined Aaliyah would become a role model for Muslim girls all over the world including our neighbours in Pakistan as well as England and Spain. It`s an amazing experience and also a very serious responsibility on my shoulder."
The story revolves around a Muslim family and Preetika, the younger sister of Bollywood actress Amrita Rao, has no time for anything except for shooting for the social drama.
"My social life has come to a grinding halt. I can`t meet friends nor spend time with my sister Amrita. We`re constantly battling deadlines on the serial... There is no room for illness when doing a daily soap," she said.
Preetika adds doing a serial is tougher than doing a film.
Just how Preetika bagged ‘Beintehaa’ is a story of its own.
"I was a model, and a very successful one at that. My very first campaign was for Cadburys with Bachchan Saab when I was just a child."
Once she got bored of modelling, Preetika quickly moved on to other vocations.
"How long could I hold a product and smile into the camera? I did some South Indian films, one each in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. I went into print journalism. Then I went to New York for a three-month course in screenplay writing."
After Preetika returned from New York, she got a number of television offers.
"In fact, one soap for another production company was finalised. Coincidentally, my co-star in that soap was also meant to be Harshad Arora. That serial was taking a little bit too much time.
"Meanwhile, both Harshad and I were offered `Beintehaa`. And here we are."
Preetika says her sister Amrita Rao enjoys the serial as much as anyone else.
"Amrita is very happy for me. She knows as well as anyone else the reach and viewership of television. `Beintehaa` reaches into lakhs of homes every day. I feel very happy. It has revived the soap-viewing habit among people who were bored of the `saas-bahu` formula."
She is not pining to get into Bollywood.
"But if it happens I will be okay with it."
Incidentally, Preetika was mistakenly considered Amrita`s twin sister.
Laughing it off, she said: "People had never seen me. They drew their own conclusions. Now that they`ve seen me they know we sisters are two different personalities. And we occupy two different visual mediums."
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.