Mitali Nag who had very impressively played the female lead Krishna on Zee TV’s Afsar Bitiya, currently replaced Kiran Khoje on Sony TV’s Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat (Shashi Sumeet Productions). She plays Madhav’s (Rohit Khurana) sister Prerna on the show. Krishna was a girl from a downtrodden family who beats all odds to be a BDO officer. She was the protagonist of Afsar Bitiya and was a very strong character. Prerna who just attempted suicide doesn’t seem to be a strong character and is also the parallel lead. So why did Mitali accept this role? She replied, “I was told at the outset that Prerna was a feminist. Feminists are strong women. Also the fact that I was replacing an actress on the show was a challenge for me. Also I didn’t want to do a show which required me to shoot for 30 days in month. Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat requires me to shoot for just 25 days. Moreover, I don’t think that Prerna should be called a ‘coward’ because she attempted suicide. It also takes a lot of guts to take your life. I wouldn’t advise anyone to take one’s life in real life though. Prerna was sad as her mother was against she marrying Rahul whom she loved dearly which is why she thought of ending her life.” Does she think that it is regressive to show that a guy agrees to marry a girl when she attempts suicide? “The attempted suicide was added in our serial to add drama. Rahul (Abhishek Malik) agreed to marry Prerna not because she had tried to take her life but because he had realised how much she loved him. After all he was the one who had told Aradhya (Soumya Seth) that marriage was about a matching of hearts and that looks shouldn’t matter when she married Madhav. Instead of having double standards he introspects to realise that indeed Prerna is the right girl for him.” Can she identify with Prerna? “Not really. However I can say that I take very less time to get ready just like Prerna does. I would also try my level best to be with the guy I love. I would never have tried to kill myself though.” Mitali has pleasant features. Why has she been cast to play an ‘ugly’ character just because she is dark complexioned? Does she feel that there is a complexion bias while casting and characterisation in soaps? She answers, “I agree that there is a bias and that we don’t have colour blind casting. Nevertheless, when makeup is applied on me I am made to look both darker and less attractive.” When we asked about her dream role, Mitali said that her role of Krishna in Afsar Bitiya surely had been her dream role. “This role also gave me a lot of exposure and my talent didn’t go unnoticed. It was a very inspiring show too.” Regarding a role she would like to avoid, she said, “I am not open to doing vampish roles. When you after all play a role for 12 to 14 hours in a day, it sinks into you. I have communicated the same to the Creative Director of my show.” One thing is clear from this interview- Prerna will surely not turn negative as long as Mitali is essaying the role. For more updates on Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat keep watching this space.