Shubhangi Atre is quite happy with her current stint in &TV show Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hai, where she replaced the very popular Shilpa Shinde as Angoori Bhabhi.
“I always made it a point not to deliberately ape someone else. In fact the crative team had rejected another actress who had also auditioned before me due to the same reason. By God’s grace, over time I have now  been  fully accepted by the audience. Recently one fan told  me that she can’t image the show without me. It was a Diwali gift for me.”

Here she accepted that it was a big challenge to enter someone else shoes. "But, I took up this challenge, as I trust myself. However, I did feel jittery & my blood pressure shot up on the launch date. Luckily for me the industry reaction was very positive which really encourage me to push myself even harder. Yes, there were some negative comments as well, but I took  them positively and tried  to learn even from them.”

Had it gone wrong, it might have spelt the death knell for Shubhangi as she was returning from the cold. “Up’s and down’s happen in every actor’s life, but yes I do accept that Bhabhi Ji  has given my acting a new lease of life.” She had earlier done shows like Kasturi, Do Hanson Ka Jodaa and Havan among others. 

Shubhangi is very thankful to her costar’s for accepting her so warmly in the fold. “Rohitash Gaud really encouraged me to put my best foot forward. Aashif Sheikh is always blunt telling up front what is working or not , which is very good as well.”

What about Shilpa Shinde's allegations that producer Binafer Kohli is difficult to work with. “Firstly respect is a two way street. I am not being politically correct;  but  Mrs. Kohli is a gem. She very sweetly convinced me to come on board and there was no reason for me to say no as you don’t get such character's on a regular basis. And  to top it all, lets be clear I have come here to do my job to the best of my ability. I want to be known as an actor who can do varied stuff,  this is my first tryst with comedy.  ”

She also claims to have no personal issues with Shilpa, “ I have never met her.” On replacing her twice, she quipped,“ It was just providence, replacements do happen, if I don’t do some else will do it anyways.”

When asked about ratings she says, “We are now more or less similar to the numbers when Shilpa had quit. Some time fluctuations happen but they are due to factors beyond our control  like cricket  matches etc. I sincerely believe that ratings don’t happen due to any one actor, they are the result of team efforts. i.e good writing, acting and direction etc.”

She also accepted that certain jokes might have crossed the line,“ You need to understand that the kind of realistic humour with men falling for other women does have a very very thin line. We try our best to remain in the family domain, but sometimes  things can go awry and plus audience perceptions vary wildly as well.”

In closing she added that her real life hubby Piyush Poorey wants her to be like Angoori “For men don’t like intelligent, dominating women but prefer dim women who they can rule over.”

- Anil Merani