Sonal Parihar who is presently seen essaying the role of Jhanvi in Sony Entertainment Television’s Bade Achhe Lagte Hain (Balaji Telefilms) is an MBA for whom acting happened by accident. Also, the girl feels she is destined to get into the wide-spread wings of Balaji Telefilms to begin her acting career on television. Talking about her entry into television, Sonal states, “I had never ever planned to be an actor, even though I am very attached to dance and music. It so happened that I was with a friend and that is when I was spotted and was offered the role of a nice character in an Urdu show. Raju Kherji was the protagonist in the show, and I played his daughter-in-law who had negative shades. This was when I got a liking to acting and decided to get further training in Anupam Kher’s Academy. After that, I did a series of episodics for Mahima Shani Dev Ki, Fear Files, Valentine’s Special for Savdhan India. I later auditioned to replace Chahat Khanna in Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, and then went on to give a look test for Pavitra Rishta. However, destiny had other plans and I got selected to play Jhanvi, the other girl in Karthik’s life in Balaji’s Bade Achhe. My stars indicated to me even before I got the role of Jhanvi that my acting skills are going to be nurtured by Balaji Telefilms.” She goes on to say, “Balaji Telefilms is a great production house to work with for any newcomer. They have a mix of experienced as well as freshers in their setup and they very well know how to welcome a newcomer into the industry. And what more do I want? I have the best of experience in terms of acting in my set in Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar. I never knew how I became a part of the Bade Achhe family and started to gel with all. Today, if I am not shooting for more than a day, I feel something is amiss without meeting my extended family.” On the dynamics of her character Jhanvi in Bade Achhe, the girl avers, “Jhanvi is positive as she was completely unaware of Karthik (Chirag Thakkar) being married to Natasha (Sumona Chakravarti). After realizing the truth, she has been strong enough and does not want Karthik as her soul mate. I would say Jhanvi’s character has shades of Priya (Sakshi Tanwar) in the sense that she will always stands for the right, and can go even against her husband. The same is with Priya, as she will never worry about relationships and stick to the right. Jhanvi does not want to disturb anyone’s life, as she has seen the happiness that prevails in Priya’s family. The only thing that she craves for is a good future for her baby.” On the reactions she has been receiving from loyal fans of the show, Sonal explains, “I have been getting mixed reactions. Youngsters love the Jodi of Natasha and Karthik, and they are angry with Karthik for having Jhanvi in his life. Thankfully, no fingers have been raised at me as Jhanvi was completely unaware of the facts. When I am with my relatives, they actually sympathize Jhanvi and wonder why she left her kid with Karthik. They advise me to forget Karthik and move on with the baby (smiles). I am happy with the positive response in totality.” Ask her whether Jhanvi in due course of time will turn negative, and she states, “I don’t know whether this is on the cards. Ekta M’am (Kapoor) has been working continuously on the creative aspects of the show. We are actually waiting to see how the story will progress now.” Bade Achhe Lagte Hain is due for yet another generation leap sometime in August this year. And we did ask Sonal if she is willing to age in the show. “To tell you honestly, Ekta M’am is not even thinking of the leap now. She wants the story line to hit an all time high before we take the leap. We are set for a 360 degree turn in the story line of Bade Achhe.” And on her reactions to the proposed 20 year leap in the show, the actress justifies, “We are still waiting to know whether the show takes a 20 year leap or something less. I feel the show belongs to Ram and Sakshi and their love story. If a leap of 20 years is shown, I don’t think there will be much to show about their romance. And viewers will not accept the romance of the next generation.” Lastly, Sonal did clarify that she will not mind ageing in Bade Achhe if her character has something extra special to do. “If I have a strong track, and get a role as huge as that of Komolika, I will not mind playing an older character,” quips the actress before bidding adieu. Sonal, we wish you all the very best for the next phase in Bade Achhe...