Exclusive - Utkarsha Naik joins Oh Humnava Tum Dena Saath Mera; says 'I prefer playing negative roles, my forte has been a little grey with comedy'

Veteran actress Utkarsha Naik has never been one to play it safe. Known for threading comedy into complexity, she has built a career on characters that live in the grey and are impossible to look away from.

Her latest role as Chandrabhaga in Prateek Sharma and Parth Shah’s Oh Humnava Tum Dena Saath Mera, is no different. If anything, it may be her most layered yet."This character is definitely quite different from Siddhi Mata, whom I'm currently portraying in Tumm Se Tumm Tak. But as an actor, a character is a character. I enjoy both of them, but if I'm being honest, I prefer playing negative roles. My forte has been a little grey with comedy,” she said.For those following her across both shows simultaneously, the contrast could not be sharper. Siddhi Mata is unconventional, spirited, and in many ways, a reflection of the woman playing her. Chandrabhaga, on the other hand, is manipulation wrapped in sweetness."When it comes to Siddhi Mata, she's quite unconventional, actually, and I love portraying her. Personally, I feel she's much closer to who I am in real life.

I relate to Siddhi Mata far more than to a typical saas who's trying to control her daughter-in-law because of money and those negative traits. That's just not me. I'm a very liberal person, and I believe everyone has the right to live freely. So I can't relate to Chandrabhaga in my personal life at all," she said.The role marks her third collaboration with Studio LSD, following Pukar and then Siddhi Mata, each project pushing her into a different shade of herself as a performer.

She said, “As for LSD, it's an amazing production house, and we have two shows on air right now.”"My first show was Pukaar, where I played a grey comedy character. It was incredible, and I absolutely loved it. Then came Siddhi Mata, which was a very different shade compared to Pukaar. And now there's Chandrabhaga in Oh Humnava, again, a completely different shade than what I've done before,” she added.The gratitude she feels toward the production house is evident, but so is the hunger.

She said, "I'm really grateful to Prateek and LSD for trusting me with such varied characters. I hope I'm doing justice to their vision and living up to what they expect. I'm giving it my best shot.”“And honestly, I'm thoroughly enjoying Chandrabhaga too. Because she's a grey, negative character, she's closer to my heart. I love doing those smoking looks and bitchy smiles. There's so much scope for performance,” she added.The scope, as she describes it, lies in the duality. "Chandrabhaga is a very naughty character, really naughty. With her son, she shows her true self. She's even beaten her own grown son, so you can imagine what kind of woman she is. But the moment she's in front of her daughter-in-law and the rest of the world, she's all sweetness and manipulation. She's an expert at fooling people. So it's a really interesting character with that double-sided nature.

Both sides are amazing to play; they're just a lot of fun,” Utkarsha ended.