EXCLUSIVE: Rupal Patel on Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2, if TV is regressive, bond with YRHPK cast
In an exclusive chat with Pinkvilla, Kokilaben aka Rupal Patel opens up on returning with season 2 of Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2, if TV has become regressive, Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke and more.
Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2 will be returning soon on Television. As per sources, the show will have a pre-Diwali release and Devoleena Bhattacharjee and Rupal Patel will reprise their roles as Gopi and Kokilaben respectively. The repeat telecast for the show garnered a lot of eyeballs during the lockdown and to top it up, a rap music by Yashraj Mukhate featuring Kokilaben just made everyone all the more curious for the show. With the second season approaching, we chatted with Rupal Patel who opened up on the upcoming season for Saath Nibhaana Saathiya, balancing both Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke where she plays Meenakshi and SNS2, if Television is regressive and more. Over to her:
The viral video featuring you has definitely made you an overnight sensation. How does it feel?
The most important thing for any artist is their audience and if we get love in enormous, it is just an overwhelming feeling. I feel blessed to have been able to touch people in such a way. Many people from various industries have shared the viral meme featuring me and have enjoyed it, it is a moment of pride for me.
With the video going viral followed an announcement that the show is returning with another season. How excited are you for it?
Of course, I am super excited. There is nothing that makes me more happy than the fact that the audience have been waiting for the show to return. Whenever a new show comes, the artists, the channels are the ones who look forward to seeing viewers' response but I feel fortunate that in Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2's case, audience has been looking forward to seeing us back.
Everyone on the set of Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke is very professional and we all share a great bond
Rupal Patel
How will you be managing YRHPK and SNS 2 as both your characters are important?
I have been working in the industry for a long time and have a reputation for being punctual and sincere with my work. And the channel knows it very well. Both Rajan Sir and the channel are aware how I treat my work. You won't believe it but I have not taken a single leave on my own in the last one and a half years from the show. My aim is always to give my 100%. Hence, honestly, I was a little nervous initially as to how will I manage both the shows because both characters are central and important. But Star Plus channel took a stand and assured me that they will work things out and ensure the pressure does not entirely come on me, and I can work on my terms. I have the support from both my producer and the channel and that boosted my confidence more.
YRHPK completed over 300 episodes. How has the journey been so far? How is your bond with everyone?
It has been a wonderful ride, Meenakshi as a character is extremely strong and traditional yet modern. I feel alive when I am performing a particular character. Rajan Sir is a wonderful producer.
My bond with everyone is very good. Be it Shaheer Ji, Rhea Ji, or even Avinash Ji, and others, they are all experienced actors and are very professional. They are all very responsible, and come prepared on sets. We rehearse, we work very professionally and perform our scenes very quickly. We are a bunch of very proactive actors. I feel every artist should work with Directors Kut Production once to know how wonderfully it works.
We showed how under the guidance of Kokila, who was a righteous character, Gopi progresses. A bahu who washed off a laptop was shown to finally getting educated, that's progression.
Rupal Patel
While Saath Nibhaana Saathiya has been receiving lots of love, there is a section which considers it regressive. What would you like to say?
Whatever content we see is a reflection of the society. Whatever is happening in the society is what we get inspired from and create a story which we refer to as "an illusion of reality." We, of course, take creative liberty while presenting that. When we put together a story, we consider many factors which essentially includes flavours of all kinds and that Is what grabs their attention. If you have to show the progress in any story, you will first have to show what happened previously, only then the change will be apparent. That graph needs to be there. Hence, we have to show characters like Gopi who was an illiterate but also very obedient. She was very soft spoken, but just because she was not literate, we can't show in poor light right? So, how do we show her graph? We showed how under the guidance of Kokilaben, who was a righteous character, Gopi progresses. A bahu who washed off a laptop was shown to finally educates herself and her progress as a character was shown. But of course, all of this takes time. So, it is wrong to say that it is completely backward or regressive, one needs to be patient, that’s about it.