Television’s very own Juhi

Born in Ujjain and brought up in Jaipur, as a kid, Juhi Parmar had seen her late uncle Dhirendra Parmar perform on stage. Greatly inspired by him, she was fascinated by the performing arts, particularly acting. And right from her childhood, she dreamed of becoming an actress. “Acting became my passion and though I didn’t act as a child, acting started growing in me. I didn’t want to be anything but an actress,” says Juhi whose journey to fame has begun with Kasak, Shaheen and Choodiyan.

So obsessed was she with acting that Juhi wanted to enter the world of arc lights and histrionics as soon as she finished school. But her father told her she was too young to pursue a career and should put her dream on hold. But when she finished her higher secondary exams, she couldn’t wait more. As her father relented, she quit her studies and came to Mumbai two years ago to pursue her dream.

Fortunately, the young lass had her uncle, television director Rakesh Parmar, to guide her. But she soon realised that it was not so easy to get work with so much competition around. “Being Rakeshji’s niece, the only advantage I had was that I was not treated like a struggler and wherever I went I got due respect,” recounts Juhi who very soon realised that in showbiz dreams don’t come true so easily.

An episodic role in Manjul Sinha’s sitcom Jee Sahab happened, followed by a five-episode role in Woh. She auditioned a few roles and kept her fingers crossed. One of them was Shaheen. Among the several aspirants for the title role in this muslim social, Juhi was selected to play the young girl from an orthodox Muslim family who is forced to abandon her studies and marry a widower nawab who is a father of a ten-year-old son. But after the pilot was shot, it turned out to be a long wait.

Meanwhile Kasak happened and the serial came on air in March this year. And with that began her innings on the small screen. While so far viewers have seen her as Naseer’s loving and sweet girlfriend in Kasak, Juhi says there is a surprise twist in the story and the character turns out to be a very nasty one. “It’s a negative role but quite good in terms of performance,” Shaheen and Choodiyan premiered on Sony in the first week of September. “I really felt great and couldn’t ask for anything more,” she smiles.

Speaking about Shaheen Juhi says it’s a sensitive story of a girl who has no choice but to make her marriage work. She doesn’t reveal whether Shaheen succeeds in her endeavour. “It’s a very good role but quite opposite of what I am. Once I was selected and the story was narrated to me I could feel the character. In the beginning it was bit difficult to play the role but now on the sets I behave exactly like Shaheen”, gushes Juhi who is an emotional support to her elder sister Rushali in Choodiyan.

What she feels nice about the three serials is that each role is different from the other and performance-oriented at the same time. Now that her journey to fame has begun, she sees herself doing good projects and better roles. She refuses to rate herself as an actress because she says it’s for the people to judge how good or bad she is but hopes to do justice to every role.

While showbiz people dream and some dream really big, it’s really surprising that Juhi doesn’t harbour any dream. “I only hope to do good work,” she says matter-of-factly. While television will continue, she does have the desire to work in films, though not for the present. She explains, “I am to young and at the age I am today I don’t think I will get to play real performance-oriented roles. I want to do something concrete and substantial instead of just four songs and a few scenes.”

A.L. Chougule

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