By Sanya Pandey

New Delhi, July 30 (UNI) Actor Manish Goplani who is playing Shantanu in Zee TV’s new offering ‘Yeh Teri Galiyaan‘ says the character is challenging for him and the show is helping him to know his potential as an actor.

Talking to UNI, Manish said, “ I feel lucky that I got this oppurtunity. But at the same time I am getting to know my potential. Like what kind of characters I can do. It’s somehow like I am knowing myself.”

“I have to observe people, read a lot, reiki the place- so this will help me in checking my skills- that am I able to do such charcaters. It’s a good thing. Playing this character is challenging for me because I have no idea of this zone. I have to work a lot upon myself,” Manish said.

Talking about his character, Manish said, “This is my second show with Zee TV and I am extremely excited to work with the channel once again. I’m essaying the character of Shantanu on the show. Born in the red light district of Kolkata, he is taken away from that milieu in his childhood and raised in a more traditionally acceptable, ‘respectable’ environment. He is obedient to his mother and dreams to become a big man to provide her security and comfort in life.”

“For an actor, it is imperative to keep experimenting and reinventing their own selves through varied roles and I intend to do that with ‘Yeh Teri Galiyan’, which is quite different from my previous outing ‘Detective Didi’ which saw me as a cop and entailed a lot of action. The unusual, thought-provoking story-line sets it apart from other fiction shows on TV right now. The last show that I did on Zee TV was more action-packed while this one is an intense love story,” he said.

Telling about the love story in the show, Manish said, “It’s not a hard hitting show. Completely different story, a fresh one. In this our characters are together since childhood, we made promises to each other. We support each other but my character goes out under some circumstances. He wants to change the mindset of the society, of the people living their (Sonagachi). This is the task.”

“It’s not about the love story. My character loves Puchki as it is like he used to do in childhood. There is no change in that. But people say Puchki belongs to Sonagachi. I want to put in people’s mind that those living in Sonagachi are not different. Because if anyone is born and brought in that place it is not that she is like them. Some also have their own problems why they were born there,” he said.

“Shantanu wants to change the notion in the people’s mind. He knows what is true and false,” Manish said.

Asked if he had any inhibitions regarding the role, Manish said there were no such thing.

“It was all about the idea. It’s a new thought. New subject. The audience should be aware of it,” he said.

On what attracted him to the script, Manish said,” I never heard about Sonagachi or any place like this. So learning something positive from that place and showing the same to the audiences- I liked that really.”

Asking his parameters of signing a script, Manish said it’s just the message.

“What kind of message the show is giving. I see my character- that am I at the positive side or not, that am I able to convey the same message that the show wants. The character should be relevant,” he said.

If he gets affected by the TRP’s, Manish said of course he does get affected.

“It’s the only medium which tells me what is the audiences reaction for me. If the TRP’s are less it feels that we are wrong, or maybe the audience’s demand is different. So then we experiment. We try to come up with the new concept. If feel the TRP is getting ow because of me then I bring changes in me. So I try to connect with audiences so that TRP increases,” he said.

If he is open to Digital medium, Manish said,”I am attracted by the message. There should be a good message. I don’t care if it’s a webseries, a daily soap or an advertisement. I want to do something good which I can give to audience.”

The actor added his favourite genre is rom-com.



Produced by Cinevistaas, the show went on air from July 25th at 1900 hrs on Zee TV.

The show brings viewers the story of two innocent children Shantanu and Puchki being raised in Kolkata’s red-light district of Sonagachi.

A beautiful friendship commences only to be forcefully separated by destiny. While the boy is raised away from Sonagachi and studies abroad, the girl grows up in the red light district and becomes a dance teacher for kids at an NGO. Will they, as adults, ever be able to unite as lovers or will the societal pressure of ‘background’ and ‘upbringing’ pose a hurdle in their path?

The biggest love story of the year, ‘Yeh Teri Galiyaan’ delievers a strong message about equal opportunities for commercial sex workers, or anyone for that matter, to rise beyond their reality, to envision and work towards a better future and be accorded dignity and respect.

The show features actors Vrushika Mehta (as Puchki) and Manish Goplani (as Shantanu) in the lead roles.

As the story unfolds, Shantanu-Puchki’s love story will be engulfed by the shadow of their past, their background, the perceived difference in their upbringing, leading to a lot of drama in the show.

UNI PY SY 0911