The beautiful witch

Gurnaaz Kaur

Even when dressed as a witch Manmohini, her upcoming titular character, Reyhna Pandit looked comely. Carrying the traditional Rajasthani attire and jewellery with grace, her willingness to share her story was palpable. Reyhna, who started her career as a model and took to acting like a duck to water, says this journey of seven years has been a fulfilling one. “It all started with Bollywood film Babloo Happy Hai, which was a flop but it helped me get noticed and opened many doors.”

An entry in the telly world with a negative character in Zee TV’s Jamai Raja, she was also seen in shows like Gulmohar Grand, Ichhapyaari Naagin, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3, Woh Apna Sa. Now, when after so many years she got the offer from Zee TV for Manmohini, she is all too happy about it. “Manmohini is a witch’s story of timeless love, revenge, desire, obsession and everything in between. I’ve mostly played negative characters in my previous shows and they’ve been about hunger for power, money, etc, but this new character is all about love, the positive and negative streaks of the emotion. I had never done it before.”

The show will chronicle the tale of a witch Manmohini, “Witches are historically considered hideous and frightful. But, Mohini is unlike any of these, in fact, she is beautiful, powerful and her obsessive streak to get her true love is attractive in its own dark way. ”

Bagging this role isn’t easy, says Reyhna. “I’ve seen, people in the wait to get work lose interest and not focus on their looks or skills but that’s not how it works. The key to this industry is patience and dedication.”

Talking of the industry, one cannot not think about the growing #MeeToo Movement. “MeToo is empowering for both genders. It takes a lot of courage to come out in public and talk about such things.”