Monika Khanna’s Rangoli in Chikoo Ki Mummy Durr Kei has been grabbing eyeballs. The show is produced by Herumb Khot and Nilanjana Purkayasstha. The actor is happy with the response around her character Rangoli.
“Rangoli is upfront and rowdy. She’s “chawl ki gundi”, and at the same time she loves her kids a lot. She runs a business where she makes her kids steal because according to her the rich people take from the poor people. So if the poor people steal from the rich then that is not actually stealing, but it’s like taking what belongs to them. Rangoli is a vibrant and versatile character. She’s a mother of six, her intentions for them are pure but her style of upbringing is different. She might be strict at times but if no one can say anything to her kids,” she describes her character.
Monika liked everything about the character, be it the language Rangoli speaks, or the way she behaves. There are reasons why she agreed to do the part.
“Mouthing the dialogues is tough but it’s interesting. I also like Rangoli’s attitude, the way she looks at the world or lives her life. This character is different from anything that I’ve done so far,” she adds.
When it comes to relating with Rangoli, Monika shares that they are extremely opposite of one another. “That’s why it’s both challenging and interesting. When you get a chance to play something like this, something out-of-the-box, it often gets the best out of you,” explains the actor, who bonds well with Chikoo (Vaishnavi Prajapat) and Himanshu (Milind Joshi) on the set. In fact, Himanshu is one of her closest friends in the industry.
Talking about her collaboration with the producers, Monika says, “Working with Herumb sir and Nilanjana has always been a great pleasure. When it comes to creativity or trying something new, they are the people who can do it. They do not write monotonous characters, their stories are interesting and I want to be a part of their next show also. They are like two pillars of the show. We know they will take care of all of us.”
Content is king. “I think the story has to be rich, believable and logical enough to succeed. If the story is not strong we will also not enjoy doing it, neither will the audience be able to connect with it. Chikoo… is the story of a kid who struggles hard to find her mother and even when she does she is unable to reveal her true identity. So it’s a very beautiful story,” she adds.
The pandemic has affected the way we work. “It has made things very different. Every day we have our check-up, covid test… so every time in our mind it’s always like hope everything is fine, we have to get things done quickly, there is no room for any error, etc. The situation is difficult, but it’s much better now,” she ends.
