12-hour shifts leave actors with no personal life: Pratiksha Rai

After playing important characters in 'Udann' and 'Pavitra Bhagya', Pratiksha Rai is now seen as the antagonist in 'Nath - Zewar Ya Zanjeer'. She talks how demanding television soaps are, the kind of response she is getting from the audience, and how different she is from the negative character she plays. Shooting for a daily soap, Pratiksha said, can be quite challenging. Long hours at work leave an actor with hardly any time for personal chores.

"You don't get time to focus on your personal life. Recently, I shot for a heavy-duty track because of which I didn't get time for my workout or even to call my parents. When you work for a daily soap, you don't get time to groom yourself, you don't get holidays and you end up shooting for more than 12 hours every day. But you also get a lot in return, especially recognition. So, it is indeed difficult and one must learn to balance work with one's personal life," Pratiksha pointed out.

Delving into her character, she shared the audience response: "I get both good and negative comments. People write that I am extremely bad, as I have come between the lead couple (Chahat Pandey and Avinash Mishra) and torture their children. I want to tell them that I am nothing like Kaajal. I dote on kids."

She added: "I am glad that people take the character so seriously and appreciate my acting. But I still have a long way to go. I am proud that people know me from my character and wonder whether I am like the character in real life. I am grateful for the opportunity," she adds.

So, is she anything like her character? Pratiksha replies: "Everyone has a dark side. I am not jealous like Kaajal. My father always taught me not to compete with others and hence, I don't feel the emotion of jealousy ever. Kaajal can go to any extent to achieve what she has set out for. While I can never be mean, I relate to her junoon (craziness) of accomplishing her goals."