Ganesh Chaturthi EXCLUSIVE: Lord Ganesha reminds everyone to learn through His murti, says Shubhaavi Choksey

Official Instagram Account of Shubhaavi Choksey

This year's Ganesh Chaturthi is very special in many ways than one for the extremely talented actress Shubhaavi Choksey. Topping the list of celebrations are majorly two reasons. Firstly, everyone's most loved serial ‘Bade Acche Lagte Hain 2' completes its one year of running and is still going strong. The actress plays the role of Nandini Kapoor in the show. The second reason for Shubhaavi to be on cloud nine is that, her most favourite festival Ganesh Chaturti has got started, after a gap of two years.

Satish Sundaresan of Mid-Day caught up with Shubhaavi Choksey for an exclusive interview, wherein she spoke about the magic behind ‘Bade Acche Lagte Hain 2' and also this year's Ganesh Chaturti.

Shubhaavi, heartiest congratulations of your serial ‘Bade Acche Lagte Hain 2' completing 1 glorious year. And, within a year's time, the show has gained immense love from the audience. What do you think is the reason behind the show's immense popularity?

It's definitely the sincerity of the actors, the creative team and the director. We all have an amazing camaraderie and tuning amongst ourselves as a team, which transforms and reflects on screen effortlessly. Trust me when I say that, despite having so much drama in our scenes, we all play it very subtle. The look and feel of the show are great too. It's not a personal thought, but I have heard this from the audiences too. As far as the styling goes, the audiences simply love the individuality of each character. All of these, I think that attributes to the immense love from the audience.

How has been your overall experience of working in ‘Bade Acche Lagte Hain 2'?
Excellent. Working with the creative team for the second time in my life and having Deepak Chauhan as my director again is definitely a privilege of sorts. To top it all, having actors like Disha Parmar and Nakuul Mehta is definitely the icing on the cake. They are both so professional, so warm and beautiful human beings that it is my pleasure to work with them. Our production team also is such a warm one, that I feel very blessed to have them. Honestly, I didn't realize how this year has passed. I guess all of this that sums up the beautiful experience I have had and am still having on this show.

You spoke about the amazing camaraderie that exists between everyone associated with the show. What has been your personal camaraderie with your co-stars in the show?
Nakuul Mehta is an extremely encouraging actor specially towards his co actors. He is very involved in the scenes, which is what elevates the scene to another level altogether. On the other hand, Disha Parmar has a great memory. I am always amazed at how well she knows not only her lines but others's lines too! The best thing about Disha is that she is very natural and she performs very easily and effortlessly in front of the camera. Give her any scene and she just enact it flawlessly. Kanupriya Mam and I are working again after ‘Kasautii…' So, we share a very special bond. I respect her not only as an actor but also as a woman too. Ajju (Adi) is loved by each and every one on the sets because he is simply a pure soul. Abbu (Vikrant) is my rakhee brother for years, but we are working together for the first time. I miss Sneha (Shivi) and Pranav (Akki) & Uttu (Kunal) too. When there are combination scenes, we all have a blast!

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Since the Ganesh Chaturthi fever is in the air, tell us about the three things, which makes this year's Ganeshotsav very unique?
The unique aspect about Lord Ganesha is that every year, He reminds everyone to learn through his ‘murti'. His large head reminds us to think out of the box, His beautiful eyes reminds us of looking beyond what we see, His large ears reminds us to listen more attentively, His broken tusk reminds us to sacrifice our ego, His stomach reminds us to digest all the good and bad in life, His mouse reminds us to reach every nook and corner or our mind, His laddoos reminds us is of the rewards we will reap after hard work. Lastly, His prasad reminds us to share. Inour humdrum of life, we forget these aspects and it is amazing that He reminds us each year. In my opinion, this is always been unique for me not only this year, but the previous years and the coming years too.

What are the three dishes that you associate with Ganesh Chaturthi?
I don't cook. That's why for the recipes, I will have to ask my mom or mother in law! But I can tell you what I love to eat… ‘Ukadiche modak' (rice with coconut and jaggery), besan ka ladoo & puran poli with garam ghee! (smiles).

Can you recall your most vivid childhood memory about Ganeshotsav?
My most precious moment was when I was walking hand in hand with my parents in all the pandaals in Mumbai. They would take my brother and me to each and every pandaal, especially those which were known to be different because of the lighting and ‘story effect'. After exiting from these pandaals, me and my brother would discuss at lengths about what I liked and what could have been better (laughs). Children have an amazing imagination and I distinctly remember having long chats with my father about what other ideas one can have for Ganeshji's idol.

Name top 5 Ganesh Chaturthi songs in Bollywood?

1. ‘Deva Shree Ganesha' from ‘Agneepath'
2. ‘Ganpati Aarti' from ‘Sarkaar'
3. Shendur Laal Chadhaayo' from ‘Vaastav'
4. ‘Hey Ganraya' from ‘ABCD2'
5. ‘Deva O' Deva' from ‘Ilaaka'

What do you want to ask for from Lord Ganesha during this year's Ganesh Chaturthi?
I only ask for happiness of mind body and soul, not only for myself… but for all my loved ones. That's all!

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