Karisma Kapoor has been lying low for quite some time now. The past few months have not been kind to her. Her high profile engagement to Abhishek Bachchan was called off, and her last release Baaz- A Bird in Danger, did not so much as even fumble and stumble before falling flat.

Come 25 August, and her debut television venture, the mega serial, Karishma - Miracles Of Destiny, for which she kept her film career on the backburner, will finally be launched . Vickey Lalwani caught up with her on the sets of Karishma...

Excerpts from an interview.

Why did you think about working with television? Was it because after staying in the industry for 13 years, a film actor, especially a female lead, tends to reach a dead end, a saturation point?
Certainly not! I don't think that any actress would have refused this role, be it film or a television actor. I play the central character which transcends through all the stages of life. I journey from a young girl to an old woman. It is a dream role for any actress. I have a double role. What more could I have asked for?

So you jumped at the offer?
I wouldn't say that I jumped at the offer, but yes, I didn't take too long to decide. After all, it was just acting - whether big screen or small screen. My primary task was not going to change. Besides, I had done it all - be it the masala or the arty stuff.

After working non-stop for 13 years with an average of eight to ten releases a year, and having done everything from potboilers to art films, I needed to move on to another level.

I believe in taking risks. If you remember, when I had done Dil To Pagal Hai, everyone advised me against doing DTPH, just as they warned me against doing an offbeat film like Fiza. But I won a National Award for DTPH. So when people asked me, why television, I want to ask them, why not? Even today, there are serials people stay at home to watch. They don't go to the theatres during the telecast time.

What did you feel when the serial got embroiled in a legal tussle (writer Barbara Taylor Bradford suing the makers for alleged plagiarism)?
The first reaction was 'Oh God! What's happening?' They were the rough times; the controversy would be a topic of discussion even on the sets. We were all anxious. But we kept shooting. Throughout the legal problems, we kept doing our work, never for a minute did we think that our soap might not take off. That kept the morale of the entire unit really high. Everyone at Sahara Television was sure it was just a trying phase that would pass. It did.

You said your primary task was acting. Were things just like you had imagined them to be?
(laughs) Honestly speaking, cinema and television are two different ball games altogether. And I quickly realized that. To begin with, the director calls 'action' in films, and here, the director calls 'roll'. That was initially tough for me - to adjust to 'roll'.

Having worked in films for so long, I am so used to the sound of the camera which is like a security blanket, but since it's shot in sync sound in TV, it wasn't easy intially to make out the movement of the camera. So there were a few teething problems. It's more difficult to work on the small screen than on the big one (sighs and pauses).

Please continue...
My respect for all television actors has gone up many notches after doing 'Karishma...'. Television is real hard work. There is a shot every two minutes. Forget about taking a break, you barely get time to pause for breath.

I have to change my clothes a minimum of eight-ten times per shooting schedule. It was physically and mentally exhausting. On the other hand, we chit-chat, joke, share a private moment so often on the film sets. But I am having the time of my life. Two years ago, I had moved to another level when I did parallel cinema. Television is enriching. I am doing something completely different in an author-backed role.

More often than not, lines are written on the spot in serials. Did you face any difficulties in memorizing the lines?
(Laughs) No. I guess that's because most of my recent films had me playing the protagonist, which in turn, had seen me memorizing many lines. It came without hiccups. But gosh! In films, they come every morning with two or three pages but here they come with a huge stackful of papers (laughs).

What's the highest point you feel as an actress while doing this particular serial?
The role. There are 'n' number of dimensions in my character. One day, I am shooting with Jugal Hansraj and saying 'Beta'; he plays my grandson. The next day, I am shooting with Sanjay Kapoor who plays my husband. The third day, I am shooting with Harsh Chhaya who plays a tapori kind. Everyday, I am donning a different skin.

Do you watch television?
I never used to, but of late, I started doing so. I started observing the make up and the body language of middle-aged and old ladies in particular.

Now before you ask me, let me tell you why we decided not to use the wrinkles, etc. on my face. In films, it would just come for a scene or two and pass away. But in a daily, well... (shrugs her shoulders). According to me, these things are okay in films but not so in TV serials. For, various reasons. One, it would have been very time-consuming; just the get up that I sport, without wrinkles, takes three hours to put on! Imagine how much time it would have taken with the wrinkles! Two, I feel it would have been a sort of an eye-sore for the viewers. We met at the middle of the road and stuck the right balance where I do look old but yet... you know what I mean.

Your forthcoming films?
Only Suneel Darshan's Meri Jeevan Saathi opposite Akshay Kumar. I have never done a role like that before. It has shades of grey. Though I play an obsessive character it is not the kind we have seen so far. I have done everything there is to do in movies. I have worked with best of directors. I am so thankful to the audience for accepting me in both commercial and parallel cinema.

But why only one film in your kitty at the moment?
It was a conscious decision. I have reached that stage in my life where I want to do something really challenging. I can't be greedy and sign half a dozen films just to prove I am still in demand.

I got to do such serious cinema when I was at my peak, unlike many other actresses who get it when they are going downhill. Importantly, I wanted to throw myself into this serial with full heart and soul. There is no point in doing anything in life half-heartedly. But yes, I am now listening to some very interesting scripts - like from Ramesh Taurani, Pravin Shah and Vinta Nanda. But I haven't committed to any of them as yet.

So how would you shuttle between television and cinema now?
Right now we have built quite a good bank of episodes. Besides, I have got used to it, so it's moving faster (smiles).

Does the current Bollywood scenario really inspire you?
Nothing like that. There are still films where a heroine has a lot to do. For instance, Fiza, Zubeida and Shakti - The Power revolved around me. Quite a mentally draining exercise that, though! Now I know why Hollywood actors often say they need a break. And hey! I am not off dances. In fact, my fans keep writing to ask me that they miss my dances on the big screen. I am ready to take on the movies again. Anyway, I have danced on a few ocassions in this serial. There is a lot of Annu Malik music to look forward to.

Do you feel that a film star enhances the prospects of a serial?
Today, something clicks if and only if it's really good. People are not bothered about who's who and who's where. I remember, in olden times, if a boy and a girl had played brother and sister, they were rejected outright if they played lovers in any of their later films. But look at Josh and Devdas and you'll know what I mean.

Your gut feeling about the prospects of this serial?
It will do well. Wherever I go, people stop me in my tracks to ask 'Aapka serial kab shuru ho raha hai?'. Look at the imputs in terms of publicity which have been made. How many films in today's times can match that?