Banni's Character is similar to that of mine - Strong, Independent, And Sincere

The show 'Banni Chow Home Delivery' is about the journey of a strong and fierce girl, Banni who runs a food delivery business where she cooks home-cooked meals for folks who have moved to the city in quest of a steady salary but miss their family's cooking. And who other than the talented Ulka Gupta to play this role and bring the character to life.

1) Generally, you played roles that are very simple, but on social media, off-screen you are very glamorous in real life, so don't you wanna play glamorous roles in your reel life also?

"I thought,'' Sure, why not. Though it's gonna take makers a little time to feel like that I guess. But someday I'm gonna change the stereotypes. I'm very happy with the role I'm playing right now and if people like me better like that then why not. I'm like water, I'm gonna be in however and whoever forms I want."

Further she mentions," there is a project coming soon, there is a movie in South where I'll be playing this modern girl who likes to wear dresses and skirts. But to be honest, it's gonna take some time for our audiences to see the simplistic, girly Kurti churidar girl turn into this modern version."

2) How do you and Pravisht improvise on scenes while shooting together and how is your bond with him?

"We both have consumed our character well right now, we even have come up with many code words. In our scripts, we keep on improvising on everything, may it be expressions or hand gestures.

Now my character, Banni, is like a very Rajasthani, desi band so I have some local words and Pravisht playing the role of Yuvaan has a very clean Hindi. For example, when I say Pakka? He replies Pakkam Pakka.

It's actually quite cute and I'm sure that the viewers will love it and it'll soon be like a trendy lingo that children might say. Banni and Yuvaan are not like the romantic couple you know, they share the bond of very sweet and caring friends and are there for each other in their tuff times.

So this is the kind of friendship that they start with. It is amazing and as actors, we connect a lot and share the same principles and values in our personal lives. I get to learn a lot from him."

3) Tell me about the unique rustic look of your character and were there any inputs from your side as well?

"The attire has specifically been featured for Banni's character because it also says a lot about her. You will see her wearing many colorful Kurtis along with a denim jacket with embroidered patchwork as she is a Jodhpur Chori.

I personally really love it. The denim means that she is always on the run and wears canvas shoes as well because my character as you will see goes here and there plus the rustic Jhumkas and bindis just add on the look.

And well, I did give one input regarding the bindi. They wanted bindi to be like a different place. But I said that bindi should be even higher up because it looks nice on me. I used to even put it in the south movies that I did. I want that simplistic, perfect look which it is."

4) How much do you relate to your character and how would you describe 'Banni'?

"I quite relate with it which is why it was very easy for me to get into the skin of the character. In the start I was a little unsure about it but then 2 weeks later down the line, I realized that I want to do this and that's when I started coming for the look test.

The Shashi Sumit Production had already seen the 'Banni' in me, they were pretty sure about me even though I was doubtful about it, but when I read more about Banni, I fell in love with it and that's when I knew.

I would describe Banni as this desi but a very ambitious girl who wants to make a big enterprise of her Banni Chow Home Delivery. She is a very kind-hearted person and expresses her love through food. My character loses her parents at a very young age and she stays with her uncle and aunt so she wants to earn money and help out.

She caters to everyone's different and personal needs for food and I think that is her specialty. Her USP is that she cooks with a lot of love and warmth. She takes it very seriously and is a solo one-man army. The key feature of Banni Chow is her spirit for entrepreneurship."

5) As a performer, you have had a long journey from playing the role of a child artist to the main stand-alone lead now. Would you like to elaborate on that?

"Well, I don't wanna sound too proud but I do remember signing Jhansi Ki Rani as a child actor but they had a lovely response, and that show was even extended for 3 more months than 6 months.

Later, I did a few other shows as well where I was the lead. I think the industry did accept me as a good actor and I'm still working on that. Before making a comeback with Banni Chow, I had to turn down 1-to-2 serials every month for the past three years. Anything that came up wasn't still up to my mark. I wanted something as dynamic as Banni is as I relate to the character a lot.``

6) This is again a remake of a popular regional, so this is one trend that has come upon Hindi TV, a lot of shows have done well and lived up to the expectations. Have you heard about the little bit of the original version?

"We know that we are remaking this and we were told to also watch the trailer while we were starting the workshop, so we were pretty happy but although it is an adaption, you will find a lot of freshness.

We went through a lot of changes in the script over the past three months, so we can say that we are inspired by 'Khukumoni Home Delivery' but it's pretty different.

Initially, we thought that we might just tweak it and adapt it to Jodhpur but then there are a lot of layer changes and character changes, and many storylines were added. I'm glad that we are going this way and we are hoping for the best."

7) What's in store for the audience?

"I will not reveal everything but all I can say is the concept is good and the character Banni will relate to people's hearts. You will get to see her spirit in everything she does, be it in her cooking, honesty, or unique ways of dealing with situations."

8) This new coupling of the show has piqued the interest of the viewers. How do you see it?

"I'm glad to find this out and I would like to thank the makers, Shashi sir, the channel everyone who decided to pair us up. At the start, all I cared about was what Yuvaan would look like but Pravisht is great and so perfect. We would love it if people give us all their support."

9) What is the one quality that helped you to become a better actor during your career?

"The one quality that helped me is not mugging up lines but reading between them. The main thing is to just be yourself and do everything from your heart be it a trick, gesture, or method, as it will only then hit the audience then.

Because if it's not then that won't help. I read and watch a lot of different content, so that helps and of course, I learn a lot from my co-actors as well."

10) How do you view Tellywood?

"I feel Tellywood is such a prosperous and vibrant industry. It is so dynamic and has a lot of different content. I feel happy that I'm playing such a strong and independent character as Banni. Tellywood is close to every household as it plays a very important part."

11) Is there anything in particular that you are obsessed about?

"I am very particular about my things like my shoes have to be in symmetrical order, the frame hanging on the wall should be straight and perfect, etc. I'm obsessed with learning new languages and learning more about dance."