Characters are not well-written today on Indian TV, says Divyanka Tripathi

MUMBAI: Popular TV star Divyanka Tripathi, best known for daily soaps like “Banoo Main Teri Dulhann” and “Yeh Hai Mohabbatein”, said she refrains working on the small screen as the characters are not well-etched out these days.

“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 TV shows that I’ve been offered have no clarity about the plot of the show for a month. Then it is susceptible to sudden changes, and in that case you can’t chew on the idea,” the actor told PTI in an interview.

“However, I’ve worked with some good people like Sandeep Sikand, on ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’. My job was easy because they (makers) had clarity, I had a graph about my character. Today, I don’t see this kind of clarity (on TV shows) if I get that and if the character is well-written, I would love to do TV,” she added.

Tripathi, who started her career as an anchor on All India Radio (AIR), said television has played a huge part in her professional life.

"It has given birth to my career and taught me acting. There’s no acting school better than TV," the actor said.

She currently features in the espionage thriller series, “Adrishyam - The Invisible Heroes”.

The actor revealed that she was initially in two minds about taking up the offer which came after she underwent a ligament surgery in August last year.

"I’m always seeking an opportunity to explore new characters, do something that I haven’t done before. This role is completely different from what I’ve done. So, I was excited when they offered it,"

"However, I was in a dilemma whether I’ll be able to do it or not, will I recover post the surgery on time? So, there were certain timelines and they were waiting to begin the project. I had two months’ time to recover, I worked hard a lot to make sure that we commenced shooting on time," she said.

Also starring Eijaz Khan, the SonyLIV show follows the life of two undercover intelligence officers who neutralise terror risks while posing as regular employees of the meteorological department. Tripathi plays the role of Parvati, while Khan stars as Ravi.

The actor said she is grateful that she got the opportunity to try her hands on action with the series.

“On television, I was never approached for such a character, they don’t write such characters for women. There are some characters like that but they didn’t get that kind of reception. On OTT, we are seeing a variety of characters (for women) and the concept of (women) undercover agents is new in this web space,” she added.

“Adrishyam - The Invisible Heroes” is developed by Anshuman Sinha and Sachin Pandey for Sony LIV.