Friendly banter

Contrary to its title Pyaar Ko Ho Jaane Do is not your regular love story, and its stars Iqbal Khan (who plays Ishaan/Rizwan in the show) and Mona Singh (Preet) give it that much-needed edge. Off-screen, say the two actors, having personalities that are very similar means they get along like a house on fire. In an interview with us, Mona and Iqbal talk about what it’s like to have the other as a co-star, what life on the sets entails, and more. Over to the on-screen couple:

Mona, Iqbal, what do you think makes your on-screen chemistry such a hit with audiences?

Mona: Our on-screen chemistry has to be a hit! Just because we get along so well, we are great buddies. We understand each other.

Iqbal: Yes, I feel my on-screen chemistry with Mona works as we both share a really good bond as friends. We both have almost the same personalities and are very chilled out.

Tell us a fun fact about your co-star.

Iqbal: Mona is crazy. She laughs a lot, which is one very good thing about her. Her laughter’s infectious.

Mona: Iqbal has the funniest stories to share with everyone about his school and college days. He cracks the best of jokes. Whenever I am with him, I am always happy and giggling.

So, has there been a time when you’ve been shooting a serious scene but have ended up laughing instead?

Mona: There are giggle fits and giggle attacks irrespective of whether the scene is funny or serious!

Iqbal: If a joke is cracked in the make-up room, it gets carried to the sets. It stays in your head and at times, in the midst of a scene, it clicks to both of us and we break into a laughing fit! There are times when the shoot is paused and the unit waits for us to finish our joke!

What’s been the funniest or cutest fan comment about your jodi?

Iqbal: All our fans have been so kind and sweet. I can’t recall any fun comment.

Mona: I come across so many cute and funny comments from our fans. They call us Ishpreet, Ishreet, Rizspreet etc. I find it amusing when people talk about our chemistry on-screen because we’re like two gundas, two buddies on the sets. We find it bit difficult to digest that.

What’s one thing about your co-star that you admire and one thing that annoys you?

Iqbal: I admire Mona for her positivity — no matter what the situation, Mona is always positive. She has lost a lot of weight and she looks stunning but she still keeps saying she needs to reduce more — this annoys me.

Mona: What I admire about Iqbal is that he is very sweet, humble, down-to-earth and friendly — be it with anyone on the sets. One annoying thing about Iqbal is that he is a big foodie! So if you sit down to eat with him, you will always end up eating more than your capacity.

Who is the bigger foodie among the two of you?

Iqbal: Obviously I am the bigger foodie as Mona eats like a bird.

Mona: Yeah, Iqbal is always gorging on biryani and chicken. Whatever you give him, he’ll finish it all! He loves ice cream and so do I. He usually calls for ice cream after the lunch break. He’ll call for two and then I end up eating it too.

What’s been a crazy moment on the sets?

Iqbal: Jyoti who plays badi mummy in the serial once got rajma chawal on the sets for everyone and there was a party scene happening when there was a weird smell... Well, kidney beans are not good when it comes to wind!

Mona: We were shooting with all the family members in the scene and it was bade papa who had his cue some 10 times in the scene but he kept on forgetting it each time! In fact, everyone else on the set remembered it. We all had a horrible giggle attack on the sets!