I am very proud of Amrita's decision to debut on television: Preetika Rao

The Beautiful and talented actress Preetika Rao, who is adored by fans for her role of Aaliya on her debut show Beintehaa, is currently on a sabbatical.

While Preetika is busy preparing for her next show, she is quite excited for her elder sister Amrita Rao's Television debut and is keenly looking forward to watching her new show (Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai). In an exclusive conversation with TellyBuzz, Preetika talks about Amrita's Tele-debut and much more... 

How do feel about Amrita's debut on television? 

I think it's a fabulous step because television has a much wider reach today and a wider dedicated audience who can watch you on their screens everyday for a couple of months unlike a Bollywood movie which releases and runs in the theatres for just few weeks and half of the audience misses out on watching it. I have always been proud of her career related choices as she has always done only classy and decent projects while maintaining her ethics and values and has never taken any step in desperation in order to get a movie and has never succumbed to B-grade cinema. She has been one of the few actor's to have a  decade long career in Bollywood and her last movies Satyagrah and Jolly LLB were very well acclaimed and Jolly LLB even won a National Award for Best Film. 

Amrita was quoted in her interviews saying that she has learnt a lot from your television experience - What tips did you have to give to her? 

I think like she said that the biggest tip was to understand the work timings in the world of television because we don't have schedules like Bollywood. We work every single day without a break till the show ends. Amrita has understood the life of a television actress better because she has seen me act in a television series from so close. Except for the work timings and certain luxuries that Bollywood actors enjoy - the work bit would be the same. 

Will you be following her show? 

Yes definitely if time permits! I have heard that it's creatively brilliant and I am waiting to see the show. It has a very interesting story-line.  People tell me that each time Vivah is tele-casted they watch the entire movie even if it's their 20th time watching it! I'm sure the Nation will love to catch her on their TV screens daily! 

How do you plan to watch the very first episode of the show? Will you be watching it with Amrita? 

Most probably my entire family and close relatives will be watching the first episode together and hopefully Amrita will not be caught-up in the shoot. 

How did you find Amrita in the promos? Did you give her your comments on the same? 

The promos are very well made and interestingly cut. I'm receiving a great feed-back already from my contacts who have watched Amrita's promos...  So I congratulated her with a compliment that the look of the show is different and beautiful and resembles a Bollywood film. 

Throughout the series, she will be shooting in Wai; away from Mumbai- how much you will miss her and do you plan to visit to her set? 

Yes ofcourse! I plan to visit her on her set someday but now I have out-grown the phase where I miss her when she is away for work.

During childhood, I used to miss her terribly when she would be away for 20days at a stretch but slowly I got used to it and now we both are busy with our respective careers so there is that understanding. 

Any message for Amrita? 

I would say that Amrita is luckier because filming this show will be much easier for her than my experience in Beintehaa. Being a Bollywood actress, she will enjoy more privileges and since this is a limited series, the entire series will be shot in advance and the telecast will happen much later - not like it was in my case where I would shoot one day before the telecast or sometimes even on the same day. Her hours of work will be much lesser than mine and there will be no pressure for telecast. It will actually be a more luxurious work-ambience for her but then she is a Bollywood Star so things will come in with their own set of luxuries (laughs).

Also very few Bollywood actresses have debuted on television and I think that she is the first one in her generation of established Bollywood Actresses to debut on television. That's the highlight of her debut and I would like to congratulate her for that. 

A lot of 'Rao sisters' fans are eagerly waiting to see both of you back on-screens and even your fans are supporting Amrita for her new venture. So any message to them? 

It's going to be great fun and it's a beautiful phase when both of us will be seen working in the same field of television. It would be very exciting for both our fans and also for the two of us because its a rare opportunity. I am sure that they will love and appreciate her new series and my next assignment too. I hope that they will take out time and catch both our shows together. 

What's keeping you busy these days? 

I just finished renovating my house and that really kept me busy for almost four months because I almost played interior designer and re-vamped my house to look like a brand-new apartment! All this while concentrating on my next commitment and working on the challenges that the next assignment is going to bring in for me. So I am still not on a holiday exactly! Every single day has been very occupying and a busy one for me. 

Your show Beintehaa is currently on-air as Salaam E Ishq on Rishtey. So are you following that too? 

No, but a lot of people who missed Beintehaa are watching Salaam E Ishq now and say that they are really addicted to it! Ofcourse the true Beintehaa fans are watching the series all over again! I was watching few episodes of Beintehaa online recently and the scene where Aaliya spikes Jamalgota in Zain's (Harshad Arora) drink to take the revenge really had me in splits! It was too funny! 

Any new habit or skill you have acquired during your sabbatical phase? 

Driving, Singing, Interior designing ... (chuckles). 

How much does a sabbatical phase like this hold importance in the life of an actor? 

I am a workaholic but I am also a person who enjoys my own space and time. I believe in using my sabbatical very constructively without wasting time. I normally target achieving things which I won't be able to do once my schedule starts. 

A lot of fans are eagerly waiting to see you on-screen. So, how long is the wait?

I don't want to reveal much at the moment but once I start my next assignment I will give out details as to why there was a delay for my next venture and what exactly happened which caused this delay. I would prefer maintaining my silence at the moment. 

Anwesha Kamal