Preetika Rao: Indian TV will never get over saas-bahu sagas

TV actress Preetika Rao, who has been missing from the small screen after her debut show Beintehaa ended, was in Jaipur recently for an event.
This was Preetika’s first visit to the city and she says she was awestruck by the performance of Rajasthani folk artistes. “I had gone out for dinner at a heritage hotel, where I had some Marwari delicacies. But the highlight of the evening was the performance of a folk artiste — she was dancing on broken glasses and nails and balancing four matkas on her head at the same time.I was stunned to see that — it takes a lot of courage and immense skill to pull that off,” she says. Preetika had also visited Amber Fort and Nahargarh Fort before leaving for Mumbai.
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Naagin or daayan, it all boils down to TRPs
Preetika feels that Indian television will never get over the saas-bahu drama. “We will have to understand that television is all about TRPs. And a fairly large part of TV audience is semi-urban and rural. We have a huge population in the smaller cities and towns watching Hindi shows. So one has to make content that appeals to that crowd. Everything is customised according to the taste of small-town viewers. So at the end, whether we want to compromise on logic or not, it all boils down to TRPs. The fact that saas-bahu dramas work is because women in smaller cities find them relatable — they start sympathising with the characters. This is what the makers want; it’s the formula,” she says.
Signed two shows after Beintehaa, both of them didn’t take off
Talking about her absence from television after Beintehaa ended, Preetika says, “I had signed two shows after Beintehaa, but they didn’t take off. Let’s hope my third show that I have in my hand rolls out soon. I can’t reveal too much about it, but it will not be the regular saas-bahu saga. Though Beintehaa too was refreshing, it ended up being one of those run-of-the-mill shows.”
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I don’t think I’d be able to play a naagin or daayan
These days, television is dominated by naagins, daayans and other fantasy characters. Preetika says that in the end, they are just characters. “I feel that playing a naagin or daayan on TV is not a bad choice. In the end, they are like any other character. Having said that, I don’t think I’ll be able to do justice to a role for which I am not convinced personally. I don’t think I’d be able to pull off such characters,” she says.
I am not too keen on doing reality shows
Preetika said that doing reality shows has never been on her mind. “I was offered many reality shows. But somehow, I am not very comfortable doing them. They do give you recognition and people get to know you by your name and not the character you play, they are not meant for a person like me,” she says.
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Amrita didn’t step into B-grade cinema just to survive in Bollywood
Talking about her sister Amrita, she says, “Amrita became a star without any help from anyone. Though her recent projects didn’t turn out to be blockbusters as compared to her earlier films, she didn’t step into B-grade cinema just to survive and sustain. For her, it’s always her family and relationship that come first. She is my role model.”
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