Mumbai, Sep 21 (IANS) : Actress Archana Puran Singh has opened up about her long-standing bond with actor Rakesh Bedi and recalled their experience of working together across shows including “Jaane Bhi Do Paro” sharing how their understanding as co-artists helped them create memorable scenes.
Archana said in a statement: “Ek baat main aapko bataun. Fun Fact! Ek baar humne ek serial kiya tha ek saath Doordarshan par, ‘Jaane Bhi Do Paro’. Main director bhi thi, actor bhi thi aur Rakesh Bedi mere husband bane hue the. Toh jab jo pehla opening scene tha, woh likha gaya tha lekin jab humne woh perform kiya ek baar, do baar, maza hi nahi aaya. Aur woh likha tha, aur shot abhi tayyar tha.”
(Let me tell you something. Fun fact! Once, we did a serial together for Doordarshan called Jaane Bhi Do Paro. I was both the director and an actor, while Rakesh Bedi played my husband. The opening scene had been written, but when we performed it once, then twice, it just didn’t feel right. The scene was written and the shot was ready.)
Archana shared: “Toh Rakesh aur maine kya decide kiya, script ki chhodo, tu bas pehli line bol aur uske baad jo bhi main jawab dunga, tu uss par jawab dena. You won’t believe it, woh dhai minute ka scene bina kisi line ke, khaali pehli line humein pata thi. Uske baad humne bilkul script chhod kar itna badhiya scene kiya.
(So Rakesh and I decided, forget the script. You just say the first line, and after that, I’ll respond to whatever you say, and you respond to that. You won’t believe it, that two-and-a-half-minute scene was done without any lines, except that we knew the first line. After that, we completely let go of the script and created such a wonderful scene.”
“And the credit goes to him, ye theatre artist hai, aaj bhi theatre karta hai, that is why he is so wonderful.”
(And the credit goes to him. He is a theatre artist and still does theatre even today, and that is why he is so wonderful.)
Responding to Archana’s recollection, Rakesh spoke about the impact of having the right co-artist and the years they spent working together.
He said, “Main ye daave ke saath keh sakta hoon aur ek baar nahi, roz hi sochta hoon. Sochta bhi hoon mann mein aur kehta bhi hoon. Kya hai ki zindagi mein humne bahut kaam kiya, bahut logon ke saath kaam kiya.
(I can say this with certainty, and I don’t think about it just once, I think about it every day. I think about it in my mind and I say it out loud too. The thing is, we have done a lot of work in our lives and worked with many people.)
Rakesh added: “Lekin kuch kuch actors aise hote hain jo aapke achhe co-artist hote hain, jo aapko bhoolte nahi hain. Toh 4-5 saal humne ‘Shreeman Shreemati’ aur 1-2 saal ‘Jaane Bhi Do Paro’… “
(But there are certain actors who become such good co-artists that you never forget them. We worked together for four-five years on Shreeman Shreemati and for one-two years on Jaane Bhi Do Paro…)
Rakesh Bedi further expressed his admiration for Archana Puran Singh as a co-artist, saying, “I have never experienced a better co-artist in my life.”
He added: “Kya hota hai na, comedy ka ek principle hai, comedy mein ye nahi ki actor ko sochna padta hai ki main kya isse chheenu, dusre actor se, hota hai ki main kya isko doon ki iska scene aur chamak ke aaye“
(You know, there is a principle in comedy. In comedy, it’s not about an actor thinking, ‘What can I take away from the other actor?’ It’s about thinking, ‘What can I give the other actor so that their scene shines even more?’)”
Adding to this, Archana recalled how the two would constantly build on each other’s performances and contribute to the scene.
She said that they would always say to each other, ‘Rakesh, you say this, then I’ll say this.’ So, we used to give each other punches.
“If I came up with a good punch for him, or he thought of something for me, we would give those punches to each other, knowing that if both of us performed well, the scene would really come alive. But Rakesh, it’s been an absolute pleasure working with you.”
Family Full House with Rohit Sharma airs on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony LIV.
