Harleen Sethi: Being vulnerable is not being weak

Actress Harleen Sethi, who is playing the female protagonist in the romantic web series "Broken But Beautiful", says projection of a vulnerable woman does not make one weak as a person, and there is a strength in that, too.

The portrayal of women in cinema is changing and these days women are shown in a more realistic manner, with flaws and as being independent-minded. Asked about how she looks at the change, Harleen told IANS: "These days I see women are strongminded, career-oriented and somewhere they are hiding their vulnerable side from the world. But why? Being vulnerable does not make you weak as a person. It is not wrong to show that side. There is a strength in that too. I do not think that the definition of a strong woman is only about raising your voice and giving it back to anyone who criticise you. You can be emotional and strong at the same time."

The show, created and developed by Ekta Kapoor, features Vikrant Massey, Sheetal Thakur, Meherzan Mazda, Jitin Gulati as Kartik , and is coming up with its new season.

Harleen got a lot of appreciation for her performance in the first season of the show. "Since this was my first big acting project, getting a response from the audience -- especially all the messages I have received and feedback that I have got from my social media followers -- has given me validation as an actress. Being a new actress, it is important for me to understand how the audience is accepting me," she said.

The actress observed how, while trying to break stereotypes of the female character lately, they are falling under another stereotype.

"I think there are female characters that we get to see as ‘strong' characters but that is another stereotype. For years, women were projected at one side of the spectrum, now we are mostly putting them on the pedestal. I think a balance is very important and there comes my character Sameera," she said.

Explaining the transformation of the character, Harleen said: "In the first season, Sameera was one of the girls who rather loving herself, was highly invested in the relationship. She was emotional and she always put people before herself. In the new season, she puts herself first and values herself than just living for someone."

The new season of the show will start streaming on the OTT platform ZEE5 and Alt Balaji from November 27.

Asked about if she has got a better understanding of love after shooting the show "Broken But Beautiful", she said: "It is a complex emotion and no one can understand it fully, but now I know that there is a difference between being in love and getting attached to someone, and loving that person from out of an emotional attachment."

"Love is actually spiritual, where you do not want to hold onto someone. Rather, you let that person be. In relationship, you want to get attached and that is a selfish emotion. Loving is giving," added the actress.