Child artistes Roshni Walia and Jannat Zubair Rahmani are having a great time on the sets of Sony TV’s Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap.We caught up with the two girls, who are best friends on sets, and asked them about their characters, how they landed the roles and life outside the sets.
Roshni and a ‘dream role’
For Roshni, the role of Ajabde was a dream come true for her.
“Playing Ajabde in Maharana Pratap feels great. Getting the role was not difficult though. I was called for auditions through my coordinator and they took a ‘look test’. Later Faizal, and I were called to the shooting location and another test was taken. I did have a little problem with the language and also the dialogues were very long, so it took some time for me to learn them. But as time went by, everything became very smooth for me,” she says.
Roshni adds that one day she would love to become a director. “While I am free I start pondering over romantic tales. I start doing something or the other on my iPad. I have a flair for directing, may be this is what I will do. After I grow a little I shall go abroad to learn filmmaking. Let’s hope what I am saying right now becomes true. I will direct a romantic film with some drama and thrills,” she adds.
“Also, on the sets, all of us kids gel very well and we love to play outdoor as well as indoor games. I share a great chemistry with Faizal and Jannat too. Since school vacations are going on I do not have to worry about homework, so whenever I get time I read books and play with all the other kids. My teachers and friends in school are very helpful. They love to hear all my stories of shoots.
Everyone calls us Praja on the sets, ‘Pra’ for Pratap and ‘Aja’ for Ajabde,” she adds.
Talking about her role, Roshni says, “I do not know for how many months our characters will continue. We were told that the role would last for at least for three months (before the characters grow up) but since the audiences like these characters, the channel probably has extended our roles.
“I play Pratap’s first wife while Phool (played by Jannat) is his sixth wife. I love to be Ajabde,” she says.
“My nana, who is from an Army background, has come to be with me. Whenever mom is busy he joins me at the shoot and my elder sister too comes along. Family and friends love my character and they always give me great complements,” she says with a smile.
Jannat’s thrills
Jannat, who plays Rana Pratap’s sixth wife, Phool, in the serial, says, “I was called for auditions on the first day. After a few days I was called for a look test on location. I am used to the language so I did not have much of a difficulty with the dialogues.”
“We were also told that we would be engaged for Maharana Pratap for three to four months, thereafter the characters will grow up… I have no idea when the time leap will happen. However, we are continuing with the characters because the show is getting good TRPs,” she says about her role, adding, “I have now learnt a lot about Maharana Pratap’s history. I am happy to play Phool and I don’t know whether my character will become Ajabde’s enemy; but we are good friends.”
“On the sets, I am friendly with all. But my best friend is Roshini. We share everything. She is a helpful friend and I love to play with her. We do share a great chemistry with Faizal and the others too.
During our free time we play football and dance and sing and skate on the sets.”
Like Roshni, Jannat too is on her summer break.
“Since we have a long vacation, we do not have to study. But all my teachers and my friends love me a lot. They wait for me to reach school and ask me to relate all my experiences on the sets.”
