Amandeep Sidhu: ‘Coming back to an empty house is difficult’

We caught the first episode of Badall Pe Paon Hai Amandeep Sidhursquos upcoming daily soap set in Chandigarh The story revolves around her character Bani who dares to dream big eager to be rich and provide for her family Does the storyline seem runofthemill Maybe But a few aspects took us by surprisemdashfor starters Banirsquos knack for the stock exchange Refreshingly the hero is not out to rescue the damsel in distress Bani does most of the rescuing in this case This was just the kind of show that Sidhu was looking for after making her mark with Teri Meri Ikk Jindri 2021 Choti Sarrdaarni 2022 Chashni 2023 and Saubhagyavati Bhava Niyam Aur Shartein Laagu 2023 In conversation with midday the actor reflects on her years in the television industry the challenges and her ultimate dreamEdited excerpts from the interviewThe show revolves around the ambitious Bani Does Banirsquos passion reflect your mindsetBani is a smalltown girl who wants to be successful and rich enough to provide the best for her family While her family insists that she should not step beyond her status she is determined to change her life After clearing her 12th exams she goes to Chandigarh and sees a new world In that regard she is a lot like me After my 12th grade I had the option to take up either a course or a job I chose this profession because I am greedy for money While I knew it entailed a lot of hard work and struggle I chose acting I was always passionate about this profession I left my home and family for thisA still from Badall Pe Paon HaiWhat were some of the career challenges you facedThe biggest challenge is to deal with being alone After shooting coming back to an empty house and eating alone is difficult considering I am attached to my family I donrsquot have a lot of friends here It is still difficult for me despite being here for so many years But I am doing it because I want to achieve things in my life My family is extremely proud Recently my mom called me up and was crying while telling me that she saw my hoardings at the metro stations She clicked pictures of the hoardings It makes me feel good that I am doing something right and that makes them happyUnlike most daily soaps one sees more realism here Was that the directorrsquos diktatThat was something Sargun Mehta producer had told us From day one she instructed us to be natural She said lsquoYou have to talk the same way you talk to your mother at homersquo I have used a lot of lsquoyaarrsquo in my lines which is not something the dialogue writers write or a heroine says in a show But that is how I am in my daily life We are done showing typical reactions on TV Now we are exploring realism in daily soaps tooUsually a showrsquos testing period is about two months although the channel spokesperson tells us that at times it is two weeks Do you worry that the show might get pulled off air if TRPs are lowIrsquom not afraid for Badall Pe Paon Hai I will be happy whether it works or not because I have learnt a lot in this short time It has been the best show of my career I am getting a lot of interesting opportunities in terms of scenes locations and the team I have no regrets Having said that Irsquom feeling positive because the show is relatableTV is the only medium where women are the heroes but it also receives flak for being regressive Are you satisfied being part of the mediumI am happy where I am right now However I do wish to try other things In fact before this show I was done with TV I didnrsquot want to do it anymore The stories coming my way were not appealing But when this show came to me I knew I wanted to take it up I was surprised that they wanted their protagonist to be greedy I believed such a character would not have takers but I sat with Sargun and Ravi Dubey producer who convinced me otherwise It took the team almost a month to get me on boardWhat is your ultimate aspirationI want to become a big heroine and win a National Award some day for my performance When I go to bed after a satisfying day of work knowing that Irsquomknown for my work I believe I will be successful Seeing myself on the 70mm screen will be an achievement Am I being too greedy I guess I am but that is what I want