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Jyoti shines anew

SHE IS Rani Mukherjee's cousin, Jyoti Mukharjee. She is dusky and attractive. She is the second lead in "Maa Santoshi Maa", Ashish Filmcraft's devotional film now showing across the country. She plays an idiosyncratic girl in the film who refuses to give birth to a child for she wants to participate in a beauty contest. She later realises her folly and prays to Santoshi Maa for a baby.

A second lead for a debut? Instead of that, she could have cashed in on Rani's name. Is that not how the film industry works too?

Jyoti however disclaims any pretensions to celluloid stardom. "I never planned my career in films. Being a married woman I understand my limitations in this world. It is just that my husband insisted I give it a try. When I signed the film, I thought my role is very understated, but as the film progressed I found it shaped up so well that it gave me a chance to play almost all shades despite playing second fiddle to Bhagyashree. While she is just a mythological figure in the film, I play a better canvas," says this 25-year-old who also appears in almost a negative shade in "Kitty Party" and as a CBI officer in "Mulk", both on Zee TV.

This product of Mithibai College in Mumbai, is also a fashion designer who pursued her career "for sometime" till her fashion designer-turned director husband Raja Mukharjee branched out into films. She is all geared up to do the lead role in "Protima", a serial based on the novel of the same nameby famed writer Tarachand Bandhopadhyay.

"My father Ram Mukharjee, who directed the famous film "Leader" in which Dilip Kumar played the lead, had already made a film in Bengali on this, so he still has the rights of the film. He is making a serial on it now."

The serial will be aired on Sahara TV.

This lover of crossover cinema has set her eyes on negative roles. "It takes much effort to do a negative character that you actually are not. It is easy to do a good character because there is always some amount of goodness in you, invariably."

See her real happy as she talks about Rani Mukherjee. "Since I have no siblings, she is my closest friend. There is no sister or bhabi relationship with her. She made me see the absolute professional in her. In the worst of health, she won't cancel her shooting. She taught me to enjoy the worst of situations with a `chalta hai' kind of attitude."

Good!

RANA A. SIDDIQUI

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