Strength of character

Mona

Dressed in elegant pink and silver, dripping with diamonds and pearls, matching colours on manicured hands and feet, a pink rose tucked nicely onto the bun, actor Beena Banerjee looks every inch the Punjabi Preeto that she portrays in series Tashn-e-Ishq an opulent love story due to hit small screen on August 10.

The soap replaces grand Jodha Akbar and the ZEE team has left no stone unturned to make Tashn-e-Ishq even grander. And, though it’s a love story between Twinkle (played by Jasmin Bhasin) and Yuvraj (played by Zain Imam); there is another love story in the offing. Twinkle’s Nana Ji shares a sweet, cute bond with Preeto Ji, a small time businesswoman. Set in Amritsar, it’s a story of love and war in two business families set in vibrant backdrop of upscale, upwardly mobile Punjab.

Beena, who has 200 plus films and numerous other assignments on the small screen to her credit, takes on a role which she feels has never been essayed on Indian telly ever. “Whenever I pick up a part, I get into the depth of the character and see what I can add to it. Preeto Ji is this lovely, old, open lady who runs her business. She is friendly with a man of her age and how their friendship turns to companionship is a heart-warming tale,” opens up Beena.

The unit has already shot some 15-odd episodes and Beena finds the atmosphere on sets fun. “Set in Punjab, the show has endearing characters and we have had fun on shoots, especially in Amritsar. Punjab to hum khaane hi aate hain,” she shares.

What Beena loves about Preeto is that she is a woman, who despite her age and being alone (she’s lost her husband and her children are settled abroad), has embraced life with full joy. She is this understanding woman who even deals with others’ negativity on a positive note.”

Daughter of veteran actor Pradeep Kumar, Beena has stayed in the industry for 39 long years on her own terms. Never wanting to be the lead actress, for that sometimes meant doing on screen what would have been considered inappropriate by her conservative family, Beena went in for character roles and has no regrets. “I consider myself lucky that I have got offers sitting at home. When I started working in the industry in 1976-77, society was in a flux, caught between modernity and tradition. I picked up a path that my parents couldn’t label wrong.”

Though her father was against her taking up the same profession initially, he eventually did pass on the acting tips to her, “If you see my father’s films, it’s this command over speech that he was known for. He always stressed on speaking right to me too.”

In close to four decades that she has been part of the industry, she has seen it change tremendously. “Look everything and everyone changes, for me work is worship,” she signs off.

Zee TV's next primetime drama Tashn-e-Ishq starts on August 10.

mona@tribunemail.com