Verve Wedding Diaries #7: Sonia Balani On Not Being A Romantic Person

Sonia Balani, 23
Panchi Agarwal in Tu Mera Hero (TMH)

“I’m not a romantic person. Panchi, my character in TMH, on the other hand, is a die-hard romantic. Another point of difference is the fact that she got married at 23. I am career-oriented and until I achieve something, I cannot think of getting married.”

“I am okay if I am perceived as my character, although I would like it more if people knew me as my real self. Panchi is a very positive person — I can connect with her because we are both down to earth and straightforward. But Pihu (Bade Achhe Lagte Hain) had negative shades and sometimes I wish people would understand that she was just a character that I played.”

“My perfect guy would be someone like my on-screen husband Titu (Priyanshu Jora). He is very innocent and simple — I find both qualities attractive in a man. But I’m probably single today since this combination is also very rare! I strongly believe that there are many things about a person that can be worked on, but he has to have a good heart.”

“I wish I were as much of a perfectionist as Panchi. She’s always very patient and in control. Panchi tends to analyse every situation before acting — and that is why she makes sensible decisions. Even on the sets, I am very impulsive.”

“Playing a married girl doesn’t come very easily to me. It is not just the clothes, but also the expected body language — the maturity in the way she acts around her in-laws, husband and extended family — that isn’t me. I’m enacting emotions that I have never felt before. And though I love the way a sari is draped, I cannot carry it gracefully. I’m the kind of person who wears shoes with patialas on the sets when not shooting.”

“Today’s bahus are realistic. We’re not overdramatic. If you take my character Panchi as an example, she’s a regular girl who doesn’t shy away from using an angry tone if she’s furious. Earlier, the ideal bahu would not have raised her voice! The small screen no longer has extreme contrasts of the ideal bahu and the vamp.”