Manasi Joshi Roy: Achint and I would love to revisit Saaya

Our fondest memory of Manasi Joshi Royrsquos work dates back to 1998 when she headlined Saaya with Achint Kaur ldquoItrsquos one of my most memorable shows toordquo smiles the actor who has since been selective about her projects featuring onandoff in television shows Now a year after Yeh Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar she is returning to the tube with Kyunkihellip Saas Maa Bahu Beti Hoti Hai which happens to be only the eighth show in her career This time around Joshi is in no mood to slow down following up this show with three more projects In a candid chat with midday Joshi talks about the rsquo90s why the new show had her hooked and moreA still from Saaya 1998Edited excerpts from the interviewKyunkihellip Saas Maa Bahu Beti Hoti Hai KSMBBHH revolves around a mother adopting a girl and then announcing that she will be her daughterinlaw when she grows up Thatrsquos presumptuous What if the kid wanted to change her mind laterThough my character Ambika Rajgaur says this she adds that it will be a possibility after the familyrsquos batwara property split She thinks she will raise the girl as her daughterinlaw and show people that it is possible She also insists that the girl will have the freedom to choose whether she wants to become her daughterinlaw or not She also gives the choice to her son and her joint family otherwise it would be unfair The minute I got the brief about the show and the character I loved it Rohit Roy husband and I have known producer Guroudev Bhalla for many years so I knew that his production house will keep me at easeThe title plays on Ektaa Kapoorrsquos Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi Was that a deliberate moveThe word lsquoKyunkirsquo gives that feel Though our showrsquos title is a mouthful it tells you in a single line what it is all aboutWhat is your take on the daily soaps and supernatural shows on television these daysIf you trace back the history of daily soaps you would assume they were meant to entertain homemakers and people sitting at home That isnrsquot how it started It was started by soap companies because they wanted to promote their soaps through afternoon shows Then primetime shows began If you see the larger population in India not everybody has individual TV sets or access to OTT platforms In such cases we are catering to an entire family So I donrsquot think there is anything wrong with it As long as the content is entertaining it is goodMany rsquo90s shows achieved cult status Why are we unable to repeat the successI believe it is because that was an era of weeklies where people waited a week to figure out what happened next The anticipation of viewing a show has gone away today because now we bingewatch everything Another reason we did well back then was because television was not ruled purely by TRPs and advertising There were fantastic filmmakers who were making shows at that point in timeDo you prefer finite shows or longrunning soapsKSMBBHH has the potential to be a longrunning show primarily because you will want to see what happens in Amrikarsquos life especially when she Kesar Rajgaur grows upAre you trying your hand at OTT entertainmentAfter Hansal Mehtarsquos short in Modern Love Mumbai 2022 I recently finished a film directed by Samit Tiwari and an OTT show with Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub Then I have a film with Sanjay Gupta I am back after a long hiatus and it is exciting to explore the different mediumsWould you consider revisiting Saaya 1998 your popular show with Achint KaurI consider it one of my most memorable shows wherein I portrayed a role that I loved It would be nice if the makers could figure out how the characters have evolved 15 years after Saaya Maybe we should talk to UTV and director Sanjay Upadhyay Achint and I would love to do it