Mumbai: Actress Ashwini Kalsekar, who created quite an impact with her character Maham Anga in Jodha Akbar, has just finished shooting for the show. Her role on the show will soon end, and it isn’t easy to let go, she tells us. “I’ve been doing the show for the past one-and-a-half years now. Waking up at 5.30 am everyday to prepare for the shoot had become a regular routine. Since I am Maharashtrian, I am not well versed in Urdu and spent a lot of time before the shoot trying to get a grip of the dialogues.”
Since the show’s sets are in Karjat, Ashwini had decided to move closer to the sets for a couple of months. She jokes that her husband Murli was happiest with the decision. “I would shoot for 17 hours. Travelling to the sets (to and fro) took me another five hours, so after a point I decided to live near the sets. The production house took care of my accommodation. Murli was the happiest, with me being away. He told Ekta (Kapoor), ‘I’m glad you have taken Ashwini far away’.”
The character of Maham Anga had an elaborate costume. So getting into it was quite a task, she admits. “The first time I tried the costume, I could not breathe.” Ashwini says she wants to take a break before signing up for something new. “Talks are on because I’m not a person who would sit idle. But I’ve told people not to call me for a month at least. At the moment, I’m busy setting up my house and cooking.”
