‘Will I Look Good On-Screen?’: Rupali Ganguly on Self Doubt Before ‘Anupamaa'

Rupali Ganguly shot to fame as Monisha Sarabhai in the hit sitcom 'Sarabhai vs Sarabhai'.

Rupali Ganguly plays the lead in the TV show Anupamaa.

(Photo Courtesy: IMDb)

Rupali Ganguly plays the lead in the successful TV show Anupamaa. She revealed, in a recent interview, that she was hesitant about taking the role but the producers changed her mind. Rupali plays the role of Anupama, a Gujarati woman, who takes the reins of her life into her own hands.

Rupali told ETimes, “When I joined Anupamaa, I was a little plump and I told our producer Rajan Shahi that you want a heroine and at this age, let me lose some weight. But the producer told me that he didn't want a heroine but a mother instead.”

She said that the producer told her, “I want a mother and you are perfect for the role because mothers are like this. Mother’s don’t get time to hit the gym and have a perfect figure and have a flat stomach. Maa maa hoti hai, she will first think about her kids, family, house and later maybe she will think about herself if she gets time.”

Rupali further revealed, “I was a housewife for seven years and was at home. So there was a self doubt when I joined the show. Will I look good on-screen, will I look fat? Especially when you were once known for having a good figure. So to accept yourself on screen and what people will think of me like why has she put on so much weight, how will look, will my show be accepted because maybe I will be so bad, will I be able to act well after seven years gap, there were so many self doubts.”

The show, and especially Rupali’s performance, have been appreciated by the audience and the show has had consistently high ratings. Rupali shot to fame because of her role as Monisha Sarabhai in the sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. She also starred in Parvarrish- Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi.