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Samridhii Shukla is an actor who has been captivating the audience with her performances and grace. Currently spearheading the fourth generation of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai as Abhira, we caught up with Samridhii to chat about her role, being part of the Yeh Rishta legacy, and much more!
We last chatted when Saavi Ki Savaari concluded, so could you tell me about your reaction when you got the offer for Abhira in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai?
The whole process was at least a month long and I knew that I was somewhere in the race. I knew it was a big thing and everyone was talking about ‘who’s it going to be?’ I thought maybe, you know I’m not that popular yet, so they may not choose me, but I’m glad they did and I was surprised, but I was also nervous when I got the news.
YRKKH has a massive fan following and a legacy spanning more than a decade. How do you feel about being part of this iconic show?
It feels great. It feels like I’m just a small addition to a huge giant legacy, and family. The show has run for 15 years but I’m only here for six months so far. I don’t know how much the entire team must have gone through to pull off such a huge legacy because it’s not easy to produce, to make, to keep people interested for 15 years, just think about it.
What are some of the ways in which you relate to Abhira personally?
I think Abhira will not tolerate anything wrong. She will say it. Samridhii also doesn’t tolerate something which is wrong, but her ways are very subtle. Like if someone gives me advice that I don’t want to take, I’ll just say, ‘ya ok’ and I’ll do whatever I want to. Abhira will just tell them to their face, which I will not do. So we both stand for the right things I guess, but our ways are different.
You worked with Anita (Raj) ma’am briefly in Saavi Ki Savaari, and now you get to work even closer with her. What has this experience been like, working with an actor of her calibre and experience?
She is great…amazing…I just fall short of words to say anything about her because she is such an epitome of grace, and so much of humility. She always greets people with so much respect. I’ve never seen her disrespect anybody and it says a lot because you know you see all these things casually happening. People will once in a while shout at somebody or lose their temper, but I’ve never seen her lose her temper, nothing. And she gives us so much grace and so much authority as Dadisaa, I think she is best suited for the role and every day is a treat working with her because she is absolutely, 2000% so dedicated. She’s always doing her lines, she’s always working like us youngsters. There are times when we get tired, we sit down but she’ll be standing and she’ll be continuously doing her lines and she’ll be as helpful for us as she is for her own close shots. Even when it is someone else’s close shots, she will absolutely give her dialogues with the same intensity that she would do it otherwise on camera. I mean there is so much to be learned from, and appreciated from her, and I hope I take away so much from her.
What has been the most challenging scene for you so far and how did you overcome it?
I think it becomes very challenging when a track comes where I’m just grieving, and I just have to have to cry in every scene. I know I’m not able to maybe give my 100% in every scene because there’s so much that goes into producing your emotions into a scene to make it look natural, to be in it. It also takes a toll on your mental health to be doing grieving scenes on and on again. I mean can you imagine like crying the whole day, you can’t. So of course we take the help of glycerine and tears takes in everything but still it’s so heavy on the heart to keep doing those scenes. Sometimes it becomes hard but I love it. I love the job and I love Abhira with my absolute entirety… with my entire heart, and it is challenging but I’m going to find more efficient ways to keep improving and try and give my 100% in every scene because what matters is the scene, because no one is going to know that you were crying the whole day so ultimately it’s the result that matters and report card that matters and fans are very honest when they give you the report card and I really honour that.
Rohit (Purohit) and you have been able to crack great chemistry in a short time which shows the efforts you both have put in. How do you both approach your scenes together?
Rohit is a really nice co-actor to work with. He’s always jolly, he’s always in a good mood, he’s always into doing his lines and very helpful and collaborative. I think that is the ‘funda’ to a great chemistry also, because he jumped in in the middle of the show and it has been a journey for him I’m sure, but he’s so effortlessly now moved into the character of Armaan and we all knew he would, coming from so much experience. It’s really nice to be working with him.
On social media we see some funny posts and stories with the cast. What are some of the regular off-camera activities you all do together?
I think we all just fool around. It’s a very happy, jolly atmosphere. I had some senior artists tell me that this is the first set probably for them that everyone just greets and hugs in the morning, and no one is at loggerheads with each other. Although I don’t have a lot of experience but I’ve heard from my senior actors in the show that not every set, not every place has such good vibes like Yeh Rishta, and I’m so grateful to be in a positive environment.
How do you go about balancing your personal life with the demands of shooting for a daily soap?
Honestly there’s no balance as such. There’s more of work and less of play but I think that’s what the medium demands. I’ve never complained about it. This is what I signed up for and I knew that these are the hours that I’m going to have to put in, but I also take it as ‘tap’ as in like tapasya. I treat it as a process making me the strongest and ready for everything, and to be able to do my lines at the last moment. Also to be able to do five different emotions in different scenes with 10 different people every day. It’s brilliant, I think it will prepare me so much for the future and I just try to do my best in every way.
It’s very easy for one to become affected by things which happen around them. How do you remain level-headed and true to your work during challenging periods either personally or professionally?
It’s very important to strike a line of control between your personal and professional life. Your personal life could be amazing but you know that you have to cry in the scene, you have to be able to do that. And also you could be miserable in your personal life and you still have to look happy. You have to treat it like your work, you have to somewhere numb that part of your brain, remove your personality which is let’s say, Samridhii. I have to mute Samridhii for a while and give my ultimate to Abhira. Unless I live and feel everything she’s feeling I won’t be able to produce everything that I want to emotion wise. So I think with time everyone eventually learns here to switch on and off I guess.
What do you hope for viewers to take away from Abhira Sharma?
I think to be courageous, to be absolutely fearless. She is respectful, she stands for what is right. She will not take no for an answer. If she knows that she’s standing for the right thing, she will apologise if she thought that she was initially wrong about something. This is something that I would also take, I don’t identify myself as someone who will take a stand right away, maybe I’m more subtle about it but I think you have to be Abhira sometimes, you have to give it to people (laughs).
Finally, a message for all your and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai fans worldwide?
Thank you so much for all the love, for Yeh Rishta, I get love from different parts of the world. I’ve never experienced this. It’s a very small career of mine, I’m just a baby right now but I feel so grateful to be receiving messages from all across the world because the viewership of Yeh Rishta is so phenomenal, it’s around the world, its brilliant. So I love it and all I can say is thank you for understanding what I’m doing as Abhira. Thank you for accepting me and thank you for also forgiving me when you thought you didn’t resonate with the character, or you thought that maybe I didn’t do according to what you expected, but you still forgave me. I think that’s love, and that’s something that I will never take for granted. And I’m going to make sure that I do everything that the fans need and want, and do it with 100% sincerity.
It is always a pleasure catching up with a fine actress and humble personality like Samridhii Shukla, and we wish her the best for the upcoming tracks on the show and beyond!
Catch Samridhii Shukla in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai everyday on Star Plus at 9:30 p.m. in India and South Africa, and on Utsav Plus in the UK. The show streams on Hulu in the US.
