She’s a talented actress — both on TV and theatre — and hopes to one day wield a director’s baton to show her mettle in direction. Meet Mayuri Deshmukh who became a household name for playing Manasi in Zee Marathi's Khulta Kali Khulena and Malini in Star Plus's Imlie. This multi-faceted actress has also written a play titled Dear Aajo in 2018 in which she has also acted — the play received a lot of appreciation from the masses. We caught up with the actress, who is presently shooting for Imlie in Hyderabad, for a rapid-fire session, and this is how it went! Excerpts:
If you had to pick your favourite show...
I will choose three. First, is 'Khulta Kali Khulena' as it was my first daily soap and it got phenomenal success, and then it is 'Imlie' as it is my first ever Hindi daily soap and third is 'Dear Aajo' as it marked my debut as a playwright.
You have only played leads roles before opting for the character of Malini in Imlie. Was that a deciding factor?
For me, more than screen space, the journey of the character must be very exciting. But thankfully, the journey of Malini has been made very exciting by the makers so I guess my apprehension has been taken care of. (Chuckles)
What's your take on the OTT, since the content is quite bold?
But 'bold' is a very tricky term and it depends on how one defines bold! For me, if something comes across as vulgar, I am definitely not up for it.
Will you ever make a comeback to Marathi television again?
Of course! Marathi television has some great content and great subjects — and if I ever come across a very meaty part and everything falls into place, then why not?
The shoot of Imlie has shifted to Hyderabad due to the lockdown in Mumbai. How different is it shooting there?
It is different. A lot of travelling time is being saved. We are all staying together and there's a nice camaraderie. We have picked up the pace. When we were shifting the shooting base, we thought that there would be a lack of resources. But the team of Imlie is very efficient and everything is as smooth as it was in Mumbai.
