‘ The realism keeps me going’
Shashank Vyas, who plays Jagya in Balika Vadhu , became a popular name in the industry with his debut show. He, however, admits that he never planned to be an actor. He candidly confessed, “I wanted to pursue an MBA and gave the entrance tests for all the top business schools. When I couldn’t get into the schools of my choice, I remembered that my friends always asked me to try out acting, as I was active in dramatics. That’s how I came to Mumbai and joined Anupam Kher’s acting institute. A year- and- a- half after that, I got Balika Vadhu. Now acting is my passion.”
While Balika Vadhu started out as a comment on child marriage, the subject isn’t part of the show anymore. Jagya is now set for his third wedding in the show. When we ask the actor about it he says, “I am not the writer, so I can’t comment on that, but as long as people are enjoying the show, it’s fine. I have had people telling me that their wives don’t serve them food till they finish watching the episode. That is proof enough of the popularity of the show.”
With popularity come fans — some of them of the crazy sort too! The actor shares one such experience as he says, “I remember this one middleaged fan from Gujarat who came to my make- up room saying he wants to adopt me. He said that he had a dream in which I was his son. I had to explain that it is not possible!”
Shashank is known to stay aloof and not mingle much in matters other than his own work. He admits, “I am a selfish actor and I prefer to concentrate only on my work. Of course, with Pratyusha Banerjee there was an emotional bond because we started our careers together. With Toral Rasputra, it is a very professional relationship. I am close to Smita Bansal who plays my mother in the show. She shares her tiffin with me as I stay alone and have to cook my own food. Otherwise, when I get free time in between shots I like playing games on my phone or sharing jokes with people on the sets. ”
It’s been five years for Balika Vadhu and when we ask the actor what keeps him going as Jagya, he replies, “We have a superb star cast; every actor is trained either at NSD or some good acting school. The best part is my character is very real. I don’t beat up eight goons at a time. I have cheated on my wife, got drunk, mended my ways. The realism is what keeps me going.”