Pallavi Joshi: Not everybody is privileged

Q You returned to TV after a decade How does that feelA It felt nice and some part of me had always missed it When I came back I realised what I had been missing I didnrsquot do television because they have runofthemill shows that continually churn out matter without second thoughts But Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai is different After doing weekly shows I found a story which had a beginning and an end It has 130odd episodes Otherwise soaps just go on and on depending on what the audience likes what the channel demands and how TRPs go I have produced two shows so I knowPallavi JoshiQ You are paired opposite a younger actor Bhanu Uday And you will be playing a mom to Amrita Rao and Aditi Vasudev How do you make up for the age differenceA When I signed this serial there was another actor opposite me who was my age But I was shocked to learn that Bhanu would be playing my husband because I would look like his mother on screen They made me walk on a tight rope for this one On one hand I have to look 30something and on the other I have to look like Deepti Naval and Zarina Wahabs mother Inthe late 70s I had played a young Zarinaji in Khoon Ki Takkar so I was skeptical When I heard that I had to play her mother I want to leave the serial right away Whenever little Ketki does something wrong I slap her on the face lightly But I have to repeat the same thing with Zarinaji I am a bundles of nerves thinking about itQ Bhanu said you thoroughly supported him even when he gave a bad performanceA Bhanu is hardworking and passionate as an actor I think his time at the National School of Drama worked wonders for him Not all NSD passouts are talented But he can switch between real life and stage with easeQ As an executive member of Cine and Television Artistsrsquo Association CINTAA is there anything that you dislike about the way the industry functionsA Working conditions in the industry are poor We have the law of land here where all these foreign companies read channels come where they find cheap labour and there are no work restrictions Sometimes you end up putting in a few extra hours which is normal provided it happens once in a blue moon Otherwise there is no family life for anyone especially if you shoot in places like Naigaon and Mira Road and it gets late for the actors by the time they reach homeQ What do you think about womenrsquos safety in the TV industryA There is an issue regarding their safety but since there is no law the producer is not obligated to give them conveyance We are raising issues with the federation and I hope we come up with safety measures in near future We got a complaint from a female artiste who found a hidden mobile phone recording her changing clothes inside a vanity van I am still in a position where I have my own staff to make sure that my van is locked but not everybody is privileged I believe CINTAA is thinking of taking strong action against offenders But the problem is that there are annual elections and members keep changingQ How is the payment made uniform in the industryA CINTAA has passed a law making it binding on producers to give daily conveyance allowance to actors being paid less than Rs 5000 a day There are different grades of actors and their rates change as per their job Sometimes junior actors make more than character actors Also there are actors who have taken a junior artiste association card despite not being extras It is a sad state of affairsQ What about producers who default on paymentA People not paying up sometimes for over a year is fashion We often get such cases