Pooja Sahu: Dahej Daasi is a family, not just a show

Be it planned holidays or hardly any night shoots, actress Pooja Sahu says that working on Dahej Daasi has been wonderful. The actress, who plays the role of Mandira Chachi in Ravindra Gautam and Raghuvir Shekhawat’s show, says that she loves being part of the project.

“In a daily soap, it's often difficult to get time off, but we've been lucky that our makers are managing things well. We've been getting Sundays off for the past few months, which makes us happy! Having Sundays off is quite relaxing, and we also have a bank for additional time off if we need it, as long as we inform in advance. Overall, working with this production house has been great because everything is well-organised and manageable. Compared to my previous show, where we shot for 28 days, sometimes 18-22 hours a day, things feel much easier here,” she says.

She adds, “I'm not at all fond of night shoots, occasionally it is fine, but if they happen every day, it's tough and affects mental health due to sleepless nights. Thankfully, in our show Dahej Daasi, we haven't had many night shoots. At most, we've worked until midnight or 1 am occasionally. Night shoots disrupt your routine and mess up your entire schedule, so unless necessary, I prefer not to do them.”

 However, a daily soap means a daily grind and with summers in, it is physically very exhausting, says the actress, adding, “Some days can be physically exhausting, but as an actor, it's part of the job, and we have to manage it. I had issues with travelling long distances, so I shifted my house to save time for myself. This is how I'm managing. Also, unlike in previous shows, our shoot hours are not excessively long, so it's not as exhausting as before.”

 However, she loves the regularity that comes with daily soaps. “Of course, working in daily soaps provides a constant income, which is why many people prefer it. Nowadays, if you look at any job, even in corporate offices, my friends work Monday to Saturday, often for 12 hours a day. So, I don't see much difference between jobs and working in daily soaps, as long as you have some savings to rely on. I believe there should be a compulsory Sunday off in the industry, or at least one day off per week for everyone. Implementing such a system would make things easier for actors and for everyone else in the production unit, including lightmen, cameramen, and others, giving them some time for themselves and their families.”

She adds, “The best part about working in television, according to me is that it's like a fixed job. Once you've done your work, it keeps going, similar to other projects or jobs in corporate firms. Then, after a certain time, you want to work in a comfortable atmosphere, where you feel like family. That's a nice aspect, working together like a family. And of course, there's good money in the TV industry, with constant income. Another perk is that if you work in TV for a long time, you become famous, establishing your face value. So, these are all the benefits of working in TV serials.”