Humility and compassion binds her as a complete woman of worth. She is talented yet grounded which not only makes her the actor of eminence but also a human of fineness. Divyanka Tripathi a.k.a Ishita of Star Plus’s popular Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, talks exclusively to ‘The Free Press Journal’ about her marriage, her show and more…
As you will be stepping in a conjugal bliss, how are you feeling about it?
My marriage is in the pipeline, but yes, I already do feel married because I got the right person in my life. I am enjoying the courtship period with him. It’s so beautiful to have someone in your life as a perfect partner whom you love and who is equally in love with you. This balance is amazing and that is the must in any relationship. The journey becomes even more beautiful when there is equal give and take in the relationship.
How did the bond between Vivek and you happen?
On the sets, of course. It was not a love story. We never spoke to each other being co actors. We just spoke to each other to an extent of saying ‘Hi’ and not more than that. But a mutual friend of ours Mr. Pankaj Bhatia, who plays the character of my brother in law in ‘Ye Hai Mohabbatein‘, knew me since many years, so he felt that Vivek is apt and quite like me sharing similar wavelength, similar behavioral pattern and liking. We both were single and looking for marriage, we were looking for a stable relationship and an apt life partner, thus, he thought about us. Some of the pictures with the fans have Vivek and me in it. We found it really funny when people started pairing us together but Pankaj questioned as to why can’t we think of the same? And we actually ridiculed the idea as to how can we start a relationship with each other because we never thought about it. Pankaj, then asked us to start thinking about it if we haven’t yet and this made me very conscious when enacting a particular scene with Vivek (laughs). As it was really getting difficult to shoot with each other, hence, we decided to let’s talk about it. Thereafter, we met, talk and realized that we enjoyed each other’s company. As we kept meeting, our partnership was growing stronger than our friendship. Our wavelength matched so quickly that within 3-4 days, we actually started feeling that we are meant for each other.
What is your advice to the younger generation who don’t easily sustain a relationship?
I don’t know much about flings because I have never been into it. I believe in long term relationships. If ever I had felt any emotional feeling for anyone, then I have always thought about its sustainability for a long term relationship. Marrying for money or for the looks or for any mediocre reasons has no worth. It’s just your love, wavelength and companionship that really matters in a long term relationship. People these days have become impatient and rigid. For a relationship to work, it’s very important to give it a chance, one should be flexible, forgiving and apologetic when in fault. A relationship runs better with the amount of humility in it.
What strengthens you and weakens you the most?
My strength is within me. I feel good when I do something good. I don’t compare myself with others and I never compete. Basically, I compete with myself. My ambition is to stay one step ahead of my own set records and that keeps me going. I am a perfectionist. If I take up any work either I want to do it perfectly or I will not do it. It’s just the inner strength and inner push that keeps me going. My weakness is that I am very emotional. Though, over the years I have tried controlling my emotions a lot. The world is very tough out there. People really do not care about your emotions and they would not care about how you feel. They would only care for themselves or their business. There is a selfish world and so, one has to be strong such that no adversities affect majorly. With time, I have shielded myself so that all the negativities bounce back.
Why are Indian sitcoms not adapted to international versions, as much as international sitcoms are adapted to Indian version?
I don’t know. May be the viewership choice is different. India has a family oriented niche audience. We love our family set up and being connected. When our kids grow up at the age of 17, they really do not leave homes and go out and work. It has never been our concept of letting the kid of 17 years old to leave house and stay separated from the family. We follow the concept of staying connected and that is what is appreciated, as well shown in our programmes. I think that it’s the cultural difference which creates such difference in their concepts. We do pick up concepts from the west that we think are relevant to us. Eg: ‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin‘ which came from the west’s ‘The Ugly Betty’ which was a family show; hence it was adapted to Indian version. It was a beautiful show and I was one of the avid watchers of both the shows. Similarly, shows like ‘Everybody Loves Raymond‘ was adapted to an Indian version, I don’t remember the name but it was a family oriented show, hence, it was adapted to the Indian version. We only pick those shows that are either family oriented or connected to our culture or suitable to the preference of Indian audience.
Who would you like to play your character if Ye Hai Mohabbatein goes international?
I would like Julia Roberts to play my character because I can relate to her. She has wide smile like Ishita (character name) or me, for that matter. We are smiley kind of people. Ishita can cure hearts with a smile; similarly, Julia Roberts too has a vibrant smile which brings in sunshine. Definitely, I would like to see her as Ishita.
Any message to your fans?
I always love my fans. I love the way they reciprocate. They try to send across their love through different mediums and always thankful to them. Their existence really means a lot to me. I try hard to keep all of them happy in whatever capacity I can and if there is any fault then I apologize for the same.
