I went through two years where I tried to wait for positive roles in TV: Jia Mustafa

Jia Mustafa, currently seen as Saumya Saxena in Mangal Lakshmi, says she is keen to step outside the space of television negative leads and experiment with new formats. “I would love to do something fun in the non-fiction space. I’m not too sure about reality shows only because I’m an introvert and prefer to keep to myself rather than indulge in drama and controversy,” she says.

“There’s immense scope in the comedy genre, and that’s something I would love to explore… or maybe talk shows, where I get to show my fun side. That would interest me more than something like Bigg Boss or any controversy-driven concept.”Jia admits her personality shapes her choices. “I’m painfully shy and keep to myself a lot in real life. I prefer one-on-one interactions over groups and crowds,” she explains. On being typecast, she says television has largely slotted her into negative roles.

“I went through a year or two where I tried to fight it and wait for positive parts. I even did a Punjabi film and played a small-town, simple, positive girl. Watching that film gave me confidence that I can pull off positive parts. But when I got back to television, I was offered negative characters again. It doesn’t bother me anymore—I’ve happily accepted it and enjoy every bit of it.

That said, I would like to do something positive in the future, for a change and for the audience to see another side of me,” she adds.Jia, who began her career with Bandini, rose to fame as Punni in Pavitra Rishta. She has also worked in films including Banjara – The Truck Driver (2018) and Judaa Hoke Bhi (2022).