Supernatural shows are working for all: Dipika

Supernatural tracks in television shows are working wonders for actor Dipika Kakar. Her previous show Sasural Simar Ka included various supernatural / fantasy tracks, and her next daily soap too is a supernatural show.

On a visit to Lucknow, Dipika says, “Supernatural tracks of ‘naagin’, insects and black magic gave us some of the highest ratings when I was doing Sasural Simar Ka. As actors, we were sceptical that people will laugh at us but it did wonders. We were the number one show for two years. Since then, there has been a glut of fantasy-based shows and tracks. Till date, they are working for the channels, as the audiences like them.”

Her new Star Plus show Qayamat Ki Raat went on air on Saturday. Dipika feels that although a lot of similar shows are coming out these days, the trend is here to stay for sometime.

“There is a little overdo on the supply side, but I feel that some potential is left. In this kind of genre, a lot of homework needs to be done. The content, filming and graphics all have to be very good, else the channels will have to shut the shows midway. We mostly see the success stories, but in fact, so many shows come out and vanish. You can’t fool the audience and serve them anything. Even in Simar, after a point of time, the supernatural track did not work,” she says.

Is she superstitious? “No. I am not superstitious at all. But, I am a big ‘daarpok’ (coward) and I don’t watch horror films or shows. I am sure our new show will intrigue the audience and entertain them well,” she says.

To questions on Indian daily soaps suffering from protracted storylines, Deepika says that her show will be “finite”, but number of episodes was not decided as yet. “The end point and the storyline is fixed. For sure, we are not going to have (especially inserted) tracks. Episodic and season-based shows (like Naagin) have worked well,” she says.

She also says that as an actor, it does not matter how long a show will go on. “Finite shows surely have a comfort level and more breathing space.

For me, all depends on the script. It has to be strong and the character has to be good. It is important to have a connect with the audience and that can happen only if the characterisation is good,” says Dipika, who has also tried her hand at comedy show.

“Believe me, comedy is the toughest, especially in front of a live audience. Thankfully, I had a partner in Mubeen who was a big support and saved me a lot,” she says.

Dipika is also making her movie debut in JP Dutta’s war film Paltan. “For me, working with JP sir is a dream itself. We have grown up watching his films like ‘Border’. Here, I am opposite Gurmeet Choudhary,” she says.

Has life changed after marriage to actor Shoaib Ibrahim? “These days, the first question that comes my way is ‘when are you starting a family?’. I say it will take some more time. People ask how it is different now. To that I say that life is different in a very beautiful way now. There is a sense of belonging, which I can’t explain in words. Something has changed for good between the two of us. Rest, everything is same.”

There is a little overdo on the supply side, but I feel that some potential is left. In this kind of genre (supernatural shows), a lot of homework needs to be done. The content, filming and graphics all have to be very good

DIPIKA KAKAR, ACTOR

DHEERAJ DHAWAN/HT Actor Dipika Kakar in Lucknow.