Sanchita Banerjee: I’m just like my character ‘Phooli’

Mumbai, Aug 27  ‘Rakshabandhan…Rasal Apne Bhai Ki Dhaal’ actress Sanchita Banerjee thinks that she and her character ‘Phooli’ are more or less identical.

“Phooli is a very loving and kind-hearted girl who unfortunately is mute yet she is very expressive and adorable. She is independent and has her own sweet shop. She is the one who earns in the family,” she said.

She loves the motherly bond with the kids and the silent love story between ‘Umed’ (Nishant Singh Malkani) and ‘Phooli’, who together have been named ‘Umeli’ by viewers.

“Phooli and I are exactly the same. The only difference is that sadly she can’t speak and I am very talkative in real life. Rest, we are identical,” Sanchita said.

Earlier, she was not sure whether the viewers would be able to connect with ‘Phooli’ as she can’t express herself through words.

“But as the show went on, by the grace of God, people have shown so much love towards me. The best compliment that I have received so far is for my smile. People have also told me that they love my expressions. I have learnt a little bit of sign language too and people have appreciated me for that as well,” she said.

Earlier the show was named as ‘Resham Ki Dor’ but later it got changed, Sanchita explained the reason behind it and said: “It was a great title, but it didn’t specify whether it was the bond between two siblings or between ‘Umed’ and ‘Phooli’. Now ‘Rakshabandhan’ makes it clear that it is the love of a sister for her brother and she will go to any extent to protect him and vice-versa.”

“Currently, it is the only show which is one-of-a-kind where the story revolves around a brother and sister, a single father who gets married to two women out of which the one who is innocent can’t speak and the other one has evil intentions. So all these characters and the story makes it very unique and interesting to watch,” she added.

Sanchita shared further that the show has an authentic Rajasthani flavour, and characters dress up accordingly. “The outfits are really beautiful. Our designer and her team have done a great job in terms of styling. It usually takes me one hour to get ready which includes make-up, hair styling and costume.”

“But if there is a bridal sequence then it takes about one and a half hour. The bridal outfit which I wore for the wedding scene weighed 10 kgs and the jewellery weighed 5 kgs. It took us 3 days to complete the wedding part, so all those days I was wearing clothes and jewellery that weighed 15 kgs,” she concluded.