Tina to host talk show

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

As per the expectations&speculations you are finally there on the screen. What is your state of mind these days?
Actually it's not really being on screen because it is not a 'saas-bahu' soap. I am just here as an anchor here and not acting. So it is a pretty easy job for me just to interview celebs. I just have been my self in front of the camera. But yes, when I accepted this offer I was always tense because I was totally new and even today there is a certain stress level because it is also a responsibility of 26 episodes which is the contract with Sony.

Wasn't it an easy start for your small screen journey because of 'Nach Baliye'? Every one, including Kunal Kohli advised you to be on the screen......
Yes it was very easy start unlike many others. Everyone thinks there is a lot of fun in glamour field but they don't know about the kind of hard work and stress we have to go through. I have watched Hussain during his initial days of struggle and have also seen how difficult it is to make big without a godfather in this industry.

Tell us about your initial days on shoot? How many retakes did you give?
See, it was not as difficult as you think. The main hurdle in front of me was my poor conversation skills in Hindi. You don't know how bad I am. That is the reason I ask for the script a day before, which never happens (laughs). And the other thing was to create a comfort level with the celebs which we generally did by talking to each other for sometime before the shoot. So, generally the shot was okayed in 3-4 retakes, that also due to some difficult Hindi words which disturbed the flow of my speech. However, they say retakes are a part of this industry.

They would have loved to be liberal with me but I insisted them to treat me as a newcomer otherwise I wouldn't be able to learn anything.Anchoring is not an easy job and interviewing celebs is tougher. I told them to pamper me and help me learn things.

How much has Hussain contributed to your solo first move in television? Do you take tips from him?
In a way he has only helped me to take a decision to start my small screen journey. Secondly he forces me to converse in Hindi whenever we are together. He also says that I should stay on sets and learn things which will make my work easier, eventually.

Since he has anchored shows himself, did he teach you the basics of being in front of the camera?
He has anchored 'Shaabash India' but there were no celebs. In my talk show 'Life Ban Jaye', I interview film stars and sometimes it is difficult because I have to be spontaneous. It is very obvious that handling celebs is far more difficult than ordinary people what Hussain had done on his show. Also these celebs have attitudes sometimes because they think they are God. So we have to even take care of that.

Any memorable or unusual incident happened during shoot till date?
I have only shot for five episodes till date and it was fun. Luckily there were no unusual incidents nor there were any attitude throwing cases by film stars. I have briefed my producer that I am not going to take attitudes from anyone because I am a friendly natured person, which they very well take care of.

Are you and Hussain still doing shows?
Yes, but it all depends on our schedules. We get calls from all over but Hussain is too busy for doing shows frequently. Still we end up doing 4-5 shows every month across the country.

Can we say that Tina has chosen TV as her new career now?
(Laughs)Don't say that please because I am not doing any 'saas-bahu' soap as that is absolutely not my cup of tea. In fact Tina can never do a daily soap because it requires lot of time and patience which is not me. For me family is first priority and if ever any acting offer comes then it should be a comedy and most significantly a weekly show.

Do you have any plans of venturing out to the big screen? You also have friends like Retiesh Deshmukh from Bollywood and Kunal Kohli also appeared to be a big fan of your looks and skills?
I think Kunal Kohli is unnecessarily being dragged into this because he realized afterwards that I am not from this industry hence won't be fit for it. In fact I haven't spoken to him even once after 'Nach Baliye' as we were too busy in shows and other commitments. Even if some good offers come from Bollywood it should be minus the skin show as we can see cinema is getting bolder day by day and Tina can never do kiss on screen leave aside intimate or love making scenes.

Has family planning taken a backseat now?
It was always planned after three years of our marriage and we got married on 21 December 2005. So, you have to wait till 2009 for any good news.