Divyanka Tripathi, one of the most revered name in the television industry and best known for daily soaps such as Yeh Hai Mohabbatein and Banoo Main Teri Dulhan has taken a break from television for lack of meaty roles. In fact, she has been refusing a lot of television offers in the last few years and has taken the OTT route with web series. After Coldd Lassi And Chicken Masala (2019) and most recently Adrishyam – The Invisible Heroes, Tripathi is seen in The Magic of Shiri, a comedy-drama-family series streaming on Jio Cinema from November 14.
Co-starring senior actor Jaaved Jaaferi, Tripathi plays a magician in this 10-episode series that the actress describes as a wholesome package. “When I got the script, I read it from start to end in one go. It was so engrossing. I loved my character graph because there is so much happening in each episode. There is so much variety in terms of locations, costumes, emotions .. The best feeling while doing the show was my director’s faith in me and the way he visualized my character and the entire show, he is a visionary,” Tripathi says excitedly.
She furthers, “For me, a character is very important. If the character is well-written, then there’s a joy in playing it. The problem is that the television shows that I’ve been offered have no clarity about the plot. Then sudden changes are brought in, and in that case, you can’t chew on the idea. After Yeh Hai Mohabbatein ended in 2019 and then Covid phase began and post that whatever offers I got were not as exciting as Yeh Hai Mohabbatein.”
Tripathi plays an illusionist taking on the gender bias in The Magic Of Shiri. Giving an insight into the life of her character Shiri, Tripathi says Shiri sacrifices her passion for magic when her husband asks her to take care of their family but she eventually decides to fulfil her childhood dream and her life takes a turn when another magician (played by Jaaved Jaaferi) helps her practice magic again. “Shiri had this childhood dream of becoming a magician but then life happened, she got married and left her dreams behind. One fine morning she gets a wake-up call that I have sacrificed enough as they say when the kainat or the universe wants you to walk on a certain path then doors open before you,” she says.
The series is based in the 90’s and the backdrop of lanes and bylanes of Chandni Chowk in Delhi, small villages of Mussoorie and old college theatres of Mumbai town bring that old-world charm into the show, says Tripathi. “A small portion was shot in Mumbai’s old college theatres for stage performance scenes. The Chandni Chowk environment helped me prepare for the role. We would travel in a hand-driven cycle rickshaw while having sweets and chaat on the way. I acted like a true-blue Punjabi like Shiri. She is a loud person and very vocal about her feelings. Then, we really enjoyed the hospitality of people in Mussoorie,” says Tripathi. “In that era, in the 90's magic tricks happened on stage. They were called jadugars and at that time there was no place for female magicians or jadugarni. These days we have more fancy shows and fancy terminologies have been given to magic shows and performances,” she adds.
For her prep the actress met a few magicians and artists and attended several workshops to get into the skin of the character. “I would practice day and night. Performing magic isn’t easy because nobody can be taught magic, it is something that you do from childhood and gain expertise in the art over the years. I wanted to get finesse and enough agility in my hands. I would try floating sticks in the air, try to become adept and quick at doing card and coin tricks and I am now trying these tricks on my family (laughs). Playing a magician is not easy but it was fun because sometimes you like taking challenges for your character,” says Tripathi.
Always on a lookout for different roles, so far Tripathi has managed to do so in the OTT space as in her first web series, Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala (2019) she played the character of a chef, then most recently an undercover Intelligence officer in espionage drama Adrishyam – The Invisible Heroes and now she plays a magician. Is she consciously selecting different parts and she says, “Yes, I do make very conscious decisions but it is very difficult because at times you have to say no to money (laughs). But it is very important to be selective because if I compromise and work only for money and IMDb status (for a weak character) then that would give me sleepless nights. To have a more peaceful state of mind I choose better roles.”
Though there has been a lot of chatter around television actors sweating it out with long work hours, Tripathi clarifies saying there is not much difference between shooting for television and web series. “There are long hours even in series if it is a woman-oriented show. We have to cover a lot in one day because all locations are expensive. I have shot for three web series now and my schedule has always been choc-o-bloc. The only difference is that you get some time to prepare in a web series as you get the whole script in the beginning which is missing in television. I could understand my character’s journey in The Magic of Shiri. So, both the medium has its pros and cons,” she says. “Actually, it all depends upon what you glorify. I have suffered injuries while doing television serials, I got a slip disc and fracture and ligament tear, then I got a whip lash on my neck while shooting for Shiri, and in Adrishyam which is an action show I suffered from bone fracture,” she further adds.
Interestingly, while many actors have experienced huge growth in their careers with the advent of OTT, the same can’t be said for Tripathi, who is considered to be a very successful television actor with many awards in her kitty. “In fact, the volume of my work has become less from the time I am doing web series and that is because you spend a lot of time before and after a web series is shot. For instance, The Magic of Shiri was shot two years back, it was supposed to release last year but it’s releasing now. Whereas, in television, we deliver so much more in very little time. In four to five years only three web series of mine have been released. I want more female oriented characters to come to me so that I can work more. I was approached for many web series but my role would be very small, say playing the wife of a police officer. I would like to pick up roles where the story moves because of my character, so I have to wait a lot for the right kind of roles,” she says.
Giving her take on regressive content on television that has always been the criticism around the small screen, Tripathi says it all depends upon the audiences’ demand when it comes to content. “There are efforts made to change television content but the audience is not accepting changes. Television works on research and the moment the makers get analysis numbers that tell them what is working and what is not they act accordingly. I know for the fact that the audience has rejected progressive content. Audience will have to evolve; we can’t blame only the medium if new types of shows are not produced. After all it is business, your product has to reach the masses. But yes, they are evolving now. Patterns are gradually changing; some experimentation is happening,” she says.
Well, Tripathi may have diverted her career towards OTT but it looks like a temporary phase as she is anxiously waiting for a good television show to come by. “I should feel that excitement and tickles in my belly when I hear the script's character sketch. The day I get a great role I will be back on television. After all, the kind of fame you get on television is massive and incredible.”
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