Meet Balika Vadhu's new Anandi

On Thursday night fans of TV's most popular show Balika Vadhu waited with baited breath for a glimpse of the grown-up Anandi, the show's protagonist.

For those not familiar with the popular show on Colors, the show took a five-year leap which meant that the young protagonist played by teen Avika Gor got replaced by an older actor, Pratyusha Banerjee.

There was a strong buzz last month itself that Pratyusha had been zeroed in for the role. However, the channel conducted a nationwide poll to let the viewers decide the perfect replacement for the role of Anandi, through SMS.

Ever since “Balika Vadhu” was aired in Colors in 2008, it became one of the most popular shows. This serial deals with child marriage—it started by depicting Anandi (a child bride

) getting married to Jagya (a child groom) thereby sacrificing her joyful childhood and adopts her in-laws’ strict customs.

So who is this new Anandi? Patcy N finds out. Excerpts:

Tell us about yourself...

I am a 19-year-old Bengali girl, born and brought up in Jamshedpur. I'm doing my final year in commerce from St Xavier's College. My father is a businessman and my mother a homemaker. I am an only child. We live in a joint family with my grand parents.

I have always been interested in cultural events since my school and college days. I am a trained Kathak dancer and have done a four-year singing course too.

I knew that I wanted to act when I performed a Kalidas play, Aashad Ka Ek Din at age 17. But my studies are also very important to me too so I will try to complete my graduation as well. I am good in my studies.

What was your parent's reaction when you first told them you wanted to act?

They were shocked at first. But since they trust me a lot, they decided to give me a chance. They were very happy after I got the role of Anandi.

Image: Pratyusha Banerjee.