‘I can’t play a sari-clad bahu’

Disha Parmar, who is back after a two-year hiatus, wants to play a modern girl on television

After the success of her hit TV show Pyar Ka Dard Hai (PKDH) in 2014, Disha Parmar has now returned to television after two years. “I wanted a break,” she says. “PKDH ran for more than two years. My role as Pankhuri in PKDH had a huge fan following. I had to stay away from the limelight, so the audience would be okay with me in a new role, as it is tough to be accepted in a new role after having a set image for so long.”

Disha, however, says her two-year break was not intentional and feels that it was “too long”. She was apparently in talks for a few TV shows, but they didn’t materialise, which is why it took her so long to return to TV. The actor says she was offered mythological and fantasy dramas, but she turned them down as she “found them very difficult”.

Excited about her second TV show, Disha says “visibility is important”. “If you stay away for too long, people do forget you. Thankfully, I was part of Nakuul Mehta’s web series, I Don’t Watch TV. That was a treat for our fans, as they got to see the two of us together (Disha and Nakuul co-starred in PKDH). People were shocked to see me smoking on the show.”

Disha explains that the shot of her smoking was a one-off instance, as she doesn’t want to shed her good girl image just yet. She says, “People accept positive roles well and shower their love. That’s why I am tempted to play them. But Pankhuri wasn’t a stereotypical girl. She was a modern girl. I knew I wanted to play a modern girl, as I can’t play a sari-clad bahu with a pallu on the head. It’s unlike me and hard to do, so I avoid it.”

People accept positive roles well and shower their love. That’s why I am tempted to play them. DISHA PARMAR, ACTOR