Actress Flora Saini after Stree and Gandii Baat will be seen in the role of Phulwa Boudi in the third season of Dupur Thakurpo on Hoichoi. The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with the talented actress in an exclusive chat about her transforming into Phulwa Boudi. Excerpts..

How did you bag the offer to play Phulwa Boudi in third season of Dupur Thakurpo?
Flora Saini- I’ve known Mahendra Soni Sir for quite some time. I was supposed to do a Bengali film with him long back during the initial years of my acting. But that didn’t work out. After that I did Begum Jaan, Stree became such a hit and Gandii Baat. It’s then that he asked me that they’re making a season 3 and if I’m interested. And I was like ‘Hello, yes’ absolutely. It was such an honour, Swastika is like the queen of Dupur Thakurpo and then, of course, Monalisa was there. For them to even ask me for the role was a big honour. That’s how I was offered Phulwa Boudi.

Tell us something about Phulwa boudi.
Flora Saini- Phulwa is a small-town girl who comes to the big city after marriage. It is a fun take on the Bengali tradition where Devars (brother-in-laws) have a very playful relation with their Baudi. The story is completely different from the first two seasons and I think season 3 is more comic. It was great fun playing Phulwa. I love comedy and this is my second major foray in the space of comedy after Maid In India. And the responsibility was also such as Dupur Thakurpo is Hoichoi’s one of the top shows. I had a blast and Phulwa for me will always be memorable. Such lovely people and you’ll see a new Thakurpo, new director on board. So I just hope you guys like it.

Since this is a Bengali web-series, did you have any problem understanding the language?
Flora Saini- A lot of people don’t know that my father was in the army and he was posted in Calcutta and Calcutta is where I started my modelling. It was my home ground, my school from where everything started, was right there in Calcutta, where I won few pageants, I also starred in Penalty, there was a TV show and that was my first stint in front of the moving camera. Rest I did quite a bit of modelling then. So, Bangla for me was not tough and Bangla is like Hindi. I’ve worked in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies, which has no with Hindi at all. Bengali is like Hindi just spoken little differently, more sweetly. The language was not that bigger barrier for me, also because I stayed there so I understood. The joke was on our set Shubhoda, who’s directing the series, he would talk to me in Bengali, I would reply in Hindi and it was like music because we understood each other so well. It was fun. The rest you have to wait and watch. It’s a fun ride.

Swastika and Monalisa have played the role of the boudis with elan and have earned huge appreciation from the audience. Did that create pressure on you?
Flora Saini- Swastika and Monalisa made my job really difficult. Having said that, they’re superstars, for me, I have a long way to go. It’s a big responsibility for me to step into their shoes and live up to the standards of Dupur Thakurpo because it’s is Hoichoi’s bestselling shows. The responsibly is huge and I am really thankful to Mahendra Sir from the bottom of my heart to have trust and faith in me.

How much fun did you had during the shoot of the web-series? Any funny incident that you will like to share with the readers..
Flora Saini- I had a lot of fun shooting for this web series, also because the energy on the set was so raw, the directors new, Thakurpos are new. They’re so lovely. The funny part is when I went on set, I was nervous because I didn’t know anybody and the language was also different. These guys told me later that they had inhibitions because they’re thinking that OMG, she’s from Bombay, she’ll throw attitude, make our life hell, don’t know how she will be. All of us were new, we were a little guarded. At the end of it, I miss them ya! One of the best teams, I had a great time, so dedicated. Hats off to the women on set to get the look right of Boudi every single time, every single shot, the way they took care, I wish more people could learn from them.

Like I said, Shubhoda never understood, could not speak in Hindi. I could understand Bengali, I could speak my dialogues which were given to me, but to have a normal conversation, my Bengali would’ve him rolling on the floor and laughing. All and all it was a blast. It was really hot when we were shooting, during June July. We used to be very exhausted. There was times when due to sun, heat and so many lights around, we used to get dehydrated. We had this mantra, ‘Mela Mela mela’, the boys just started singing that, the energies these boys had were fantabulous.

Do we get to see you more in Bengali web-series in the future?
Flora Saini- I’m praying hard that Dupur Thakurpo Season 3 gets the kind of appreciation it deserves. We’ve all worked very hard, everybody connected with this season so well. I hope you get to see all of us doing a lot of work post the release of Dupur Thakurpo.

You have confessed to being a target of #metoo. Have this caused any problem in your getting works?

Flora Saini- All those who do know my case, mine is not a typical MeToo case, it’s not sexual harassment at the workplace, mine is more of domestic violence, more of physical abuse. My boyfriend who happened to be a producer, it did cause problems in getting work at that time. There is God up above and God’s been really kind. I don’t think people who know me were aware that I went through hell. I came out with a fractured jaw. I’m an honest worker and I’m an okay artist I guess. Above all, I don’t think it has made any difference to anybody who’s ever wanted to cast me. It took a lot of time, initially. But things have changed. I was shooting for Farhan Akhtar’s Web series ‘Inside Edge’ and this was before MeToo. Would you believe that all around our sets we have pamphlets posted and this is before MeToo mind it, saying, ‘This is a woman work safe area if you have a problem working with anybody, if anybody is giving you stress onset please come and report to us.’ It doesn’t take much for a production house to make the work area safe for women who are working, as we get on the set early in the morning and we spend almost 12-13hours on set. So if you’re at a workplace for so long, I think it’s very basic for people to take care of the women. If it was our mothers or sisters, we expect that right? If we’re out of the house for the whole day working so hard, away from the families, that’s the least. I think I’m very fortunate to get an opportunity to work with such amazing men and people should actually get up and salute them. My life experience has taught me that industry is full of wonderful men, gentlemen and it’s so good that they’re setting up and laying standards and setting an example. It’s beautiful.

After Stree and Dupur Thakurpo, what is next in line for you?
Flora Saini- After Stree and Dupur Thakurpo, you will see me in Inside Edge that’ll be coming out soon. That’s what I’m waiting for.

We wish Flora rocks as Phulwa Boudi and we wish her all the luck in her upcoming projects too.