Behnein seems to be playing a major role in Star Plus’ efforts of regaining its numero uno slot from Colors. The serial seems to have struck the right balance between a saas-bahu saga and a socially relevant show thereby hitting the bull’s eye. And one of the major reasons for the success of the show is the lovely female protagonist Purva. Aalesha Sayed who plays the said role spoke to TellyChakkar just before leaving for Bangalore to celebrate Eid. Few months back when Behnein was launched, you were nervous, shy and hardly spoke to the media in the first press meet. You seemed to have changed a lot for the better… Yes, I remember that event (smiles). I was very shy, tensed and scared. I was new to this and suddenly I was made to face hundreds of people with microphones and cameras. I was not sure what to say, where to start and where to stop. But I guess, time and experience makes people more confident. Today I am more at ease while facing the media. I feel confident answering questions and do not get butterflies in my stomach before a media meet. When you started Behnein, did you get the feeling that the show will become such a big hit? Frankly speaking, I did sense about it. Right from the initial days the response has been overwhelming. When we were on tour with the cast, we had got a very good response and even the TRPs were very encouraging to begin with. You had mentioned earlier that your family was not very supportive of you taking up acting as a career… (Smiles) I am originally from Bangalore and have one elder sister and a younger brother in the family. I had to go against everyone when I decided to become an actress. Very few people know I started my career with south Indian films. I have done a Kannada film as a second lead. Three years back, I came to Mumbai and participated in Cinestar Ki Khoj. When I got to know that Hats Off was looking for a lead I gave an audition and I got it. That is how it started. Today my family is happy I am doing what I wanted and am successful at that. What, according to you, is the secret of behind the success of Behnein? I believe that any show is successful because of teamwork. The entire cast and crew is responsible for the success, since making a serial is team work. But I would sincerely like to thank the creative team and all the directors -- especially Sameer Kulkarni, Ankush and Glenn. They have really extracted the best from me and motivated me to give my best. You seem to share a very good on-screen chemistry with your co-star Sudip Sahir. Tell us more about it. Thanks for saying that! When our track started, we were very much out of place and did not gel well. This was because the audience already liked and appreciated Sudip and Shiju Kataria. So it was a task for both of us to create that chemistry. But somehow it was not working and one day JD Sir gave me a dressing down. He asked me to work on it. After that Sudip and I really worked hard and I am glad viewers have accepted us as a couple!