"I'm not very religious, but I believe in Karma" - Gungun

Starting 8^th September, Sunday mornings will never be the same as the much awaited historical magnum opus Buddha will air on Zee TV. As reported earlier, the star cast of the show includes renowned actors like Kabir Bedi, Sameer Dharmadhikari, Nigaar Z. Khan and many more. Adding to the list is the pretty actress Gungun Uprari, who was last seen in Hongey Judaa Na Hum on Sony TV.

In conversation with TellyBuzz, Gungun talks about her character, as she says, "I'm playing the role of Queen Prajapati, who is Buddha's step-mother. Actually, Queen Mahamaya who was Buddha's biological mother, died soon after the birth of a baby boy  leaving a grieving husband behind. As per tradition, Maya's younger sister, Prajapati, had to abandon all hopes of following her own destiny and step in to fulfill her sister's role both as a step-mother to Siddhartha and as a wife to the king."

As Gungun has been associated with daily fiction soaps only on being asked, what made her choose this historical role, she says it frankly, "It's true that I've been associated with stereotypical daily soaps till now, and that is one of the reasons I wanted to try my hand in something unusual and different now. Nevertheless, I had been getting many offers for mythological shows in the past, but again I did not want to do something which is very common. Buddha is a very new and fresh concept and this series is a never-seen-before biopic on television on the life of Gautam Buddha, which is why I opted to play this role."

While testing Gungun's knowledge about the story of Buddha's life, the petite actress says, "We have all read about Buddha at one point or the other. Yet, so much still remains to be explored about the powerful and magnetic leader, which we will showcase in 52 gripping episodes. Initially, even I had mere basic knowledge about Buddha and his life, just like everyone else. But I feel when you watch a show; the whole story gets registered in your mind. So I hope this show helps to enlighten the present generation and spread out suffice knowledge about the great Buddha."

Also, given a fact that all the mythological and historical shows are always fascinated by dazzling costumes and well-designed jewellery, Buddha is no different. Talking about the same, Gungun shares with us, "Since our show falls under a different genre of a periodic drama, a lot of in-depth study and detailing has been done by the experts. Each look and costume has been well researched to re-create the look and feel of a bygone era. Not just that, even the jewellery are sourced from Patna that brings alive the major lifestyles of the royal family of Kapilavastu."

The actress also went on to say that, "Being one of its kind, the show itself is a challenge for me. I never had a setback with the language or diction, as I'm very fluent with Hindi language. However, sometimes I'm left amazed as to even a single word has so many different meanings. The only home-work I had to do to prepare for this role was to polish up my moves and gestures. Therefore, as an actor, this show is giving me a wide scope to learn new things and improve for good and I am enjoying it."

As Gungun Uprari will now be seen in this grand new show, on being asked whether is she too religious in real life or not, the actress concluded, "Well, to be honest, I'm not very religious in my real life but I consider myself as a Karmayogi. I cannot just leave my work and sit idle worshiping God. I believe in doing good deeds and getting good results. And lastly, I just hope people will accept the show and like my new avatar."

We at TellyBuzz wish Gungun Uprari and her new show lots of success and good luck!

Monica Varma