MUMBAI: Sony SAB’s Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga has kept the viewers at the edge of their seats with nail-biting suspense as Aladdin (Siddharth Nigam) is on a quest to find the parts of Khanjar, for Mallika (Debina Bonnerjee) and get his Ammi (Smita Bansal) back to normal. Smita Bansal, playing the role of Ammi, was recently turned into a Genie due to the evil powers of Mallika. 

This new turn brought in some changes for Smita Bansal who now had to float, instead of walk, as a Genie. She shares about this unique experience as she said, “When I became a genie on the show, I had to use the hoverboard and this was initially a challenge for me. It is a very different feeling when you use a hoverboard because the control is completely on your feet and hence, the first day when I stood on it, I fell. Luckily at that moment Praneet and a crew member caught me and I was saved from getting hurt badly. The most difficult part of using the hoverboard is getting on or off of it because one leg is on it and the other needs to be balanced properly to stand on or get down from the hoverboard. So, since it was the first day, I tried playing it smart and I jumped off the hoverboard, eventually falling down.” 

She further added, “It is especially difficult to practice on the set because the surface isn’t smooth and there are a lot of obstacles in between. I have seen a few episodes of mine where I have stumbled a little but because of the editing, it was barely noticeable. So, demotivated by all this, for once I thought of giving up on the hoverboard and use the hand pulled trolley that our director had arranged. However, since that was a really tedious and time consuming process, I gave the hoverboard another try which finally paid off. Now, I have been using it for a long time and am pretty comfortable with it.” 

Talking about who all taught her to use the hoverboard, Smita Bansal shared, “Praneet (Genie of The Ring) is the one who uses hoverboard regularly on the set and he tried teaching me to use it. Even Siddharth (Aladdin), who is a brilliant gymnast, would use a hoverboard very smoothly. He also tried teaching me at a point by saying ‘Ammi just control it through your mind and you will be able to use it’, but of course I couldn’t. The most beautiful thing about Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga is that all the co-stars and the team are very patient with you and they don’t pressurize you over something, rather encourage you. Praneet and Siddharth made sure that even between the shots, I practiced using the hoverboard. So the entire process became rather enjoyable.” 

Adding to it, Siddharth Nigam said, “I personally enjoy using the hoverboard on the set and it was really nice to see Smita ma’am try using it for her role as the Genie. Although it was a very new thing for her, she never gave up and would practice every day to master the art of riding on a hoverboard.”