Dhulokona, Star Jalsha’s upcoming serial, has already created a buzz on social media platforms with more than 1.5 million views on Facebook after the release of its fun promo recently. The Telegraph caught up with Manali Manisha Dey, who plays one of the lead characters in the serial, for a chat...
Tell us more about Dhulokona...
As the promo shows us, it is a comedy-based story and I play the character of a housemaid and Indrasish Roy is there opposite me, who plays the character of a driver. There are many other renowned actors in the serial and it is going to be a very fun show to watch.
You have acted in many comedy roles so far. How challenging was it to work together and how do you feel about the genre?
In comedy, timing is the key. It is also important that your co-actors have great comic timing. Only by taking into consideration every little thing we can make the audience feel the comedy while they watch. So, there is a lot of excitement regarding this project since I love the comedy genre and the actors involved in this show are all loved and known for their comedy roles and have great comic timing too. Any new project makes me feel excited and this project is in my favourite genre, so I am even more excited.
Manali and Indrasish in the promo of Dhulokona Sourced by the correspondent
How was it like working with Indrasish?
With Indrasish it is my first work with him. Since we are already friends and know each other well, the promo was quite fun to shoot, so I’m hoping that we will have a lot of fun on set too once shooting resumes. It is a new project, based on Leenadi’s (Gangopadhyay) script and a great unit too, so I am really excited. This is my second project with Leenadi and working with her each time is wonderful because the characters that she sketches for me and the kind of scripts that she writes are very meaningful, resonates with the viewers and have a huge impact. On occasions, when we play a character in a mega serial for a long time, it can get a bit boring at times. But it has never happened with Leenadi. Her writing is always exciting, fresh and presents new dimensions. The way she writes the script and sketches the character with her words helps a lot in executing the role as an actor. Her writing immensely helps in building the character and that is a great support for playing a character. She is one of my favourite writers.
The promo has already got a lot of attention from people. How and where did you all shoot it? How challenging was it considering the present circumstances?
At present, staying healthy itself is a challenge. Staying well means everything. We have not started the shoot yet but while shooting for the promo amidst this crisis we took all the necessary precautions. We shot the promo keeping in mind our safety.
What was your brief for shooting the promo?
Leenadi had briefed us about the characters earlier. She told me how my character behaves and how she talks, so that helped in shooting the promo.
How is this second phase of lockdown going for you personally?
It is very disheartening to see the situation around us and we are getting bad news every day. Previously, the bad news would concern people we were not familiar with or are distant from but with each passing day the news pouring in is of near and dear ones falling sick. Eventually, we’ll have to carry on with our work but we have to be more self-aware and careful at the same time.
You have worked for both the big screen and small screen. Which is your comfort zone?
Both are my comfort zone. Considering the present situation, having work and being able to work in itself means a lot. I only agree to do a project if the character appeals to me, so it doesn’t really matter if it is for the small screen or big screen. Both are equally important to me.
Would you like to work in web series?
For some reason I have not been able to take up work for the digital platform. It always clashes with some work or the other. The two projects that we were discussing recently clashed with my other projects.