When Shubhangi Atre replaced Shilpa Shinde as Angoori Bhabi on &TV’s Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai, many feared it was the beginning of the end of the show’s huge popularity. The show, however, bucked the trend and is still a small screen wonder for the kind of fan following it enjoys among its loyal fan base.
Shubhangi, a doting mother of a 10-year-old girl, says, “The show’s TRPs went up a couple of weeks ago, and then it dropped. Such fluctuations do take place in our industry. IPL was also going on at that time. And, others also suffered, so it wasn’t just us. It’s been 11 years for me in this industry, and now I don’t pay much attention to this TRP game.”
“The audience gets attached to a character in TV. People know the character, not the actor. I was prepared for the negative feedback, but I received really good response,” adds Shubhangi.
After Chidiyaghar, Shubhangi has replaced Shinde for the second time in her career. “(Laughs) I haven’t met Shilpa many times. But, such replacements aren’t happening for the first time. The show must go on.”
Shilpa Shinde left the show on the pretext of getting absolutely no offs. Atre, however, is lucky in this regard. “Every Friday, we get off, and we have a director who takes care of us. We don’t shoot for more than 6-7 scenes everyday and that hardly take me 45 minutes.”
Shilpa bid adieu to the show after a bitter public spat with the producers. The new Bhabi ji feels lucky on this account. “I am really comfortable with everybody on the sets. If you’re replacing a popular character then you are under certain kind of pressure, but I don’t think much about it.”
Gruelling shooting schedules are not a new thing for Shubhangi. “I have shot for shows like Kasturi and Do Hanso Ka Joda where I have shot for almost every day.”
She complains about the lack of time in a rather jovial way. “I am completely dedicated to playing Bhabi ji right now. In any case, we shoot for 25 days in a month. (Laughs)”
Being from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, she needed some lessons in Bhojpuri, which is spoken in Bihar. “I saw some videos on YouTube. Earlier, I did a similar job in one of the episodes of Chidiyaghar.”
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