'Balaji Telefilms has no ethics'

She is one of the most versatile faces on the Indian telly and will now be seen as a mother of conjoined twins on Sony's new serial Amber Dhara. Catch actress Mona Ambegaonkar in a chat with Riya V Anandwala.

How confident are you about your new show AmberDhara?
I don't need to be. It's not my show.

Okay.. how about your character?
That I'm extremely confident about. It's well written and well-etched out.

If you come across a situation like your character does in this show (a woman who is abandoned by her husband after delivering conjoined twins), how would you react?
I don't want be judgmental; I've never been that way. I don't think it's right to say what's good or bad.

You've never done family dramas.. why AmberDhara? "I'm doing AmberDhara because I'm not doing anything else. As to why I'm not doing anything else.. I don't want to be seen doing trash".
I'm doing AmberDhara because I'm not doing anything else. As to why I'm not doing anything else.. I don't want to be seen doing trash.

You've been around television for so many years.. haven't you come across anything interesting?
Why.. have you? If you have, do let me know.

Have you been offered saas-bahu shows?
Oh yeah, I was almost about to do Karam Apna Apna.

So, what happened?
Nothing. I refused because Balaji Telefilms has no ethics. They don't know how to treat people. I didn't know what the role was; I don't think they knew either.

What about movies?
I have a few films coming up. I had one release this year, Buddha Mar Gaya, which was rather dismal.

Were you happy with the way it shaped up?
Honestly, I never saw the film. I didn't get an opportunity. There was just one preview but I wasn't in town then.

What response did you get for your work?
From the executive producer: that the film hadn't worked. From the press: you know it. And from a really honest friend: he told me he ran out of the theatre mid-way.. screaming, so you get the picture.

You've been active on stage..
Yes, five of my plays are running currently. Tom Alter and I do three plays in a year.

Any plans of starting your own production house?
Not for theatre. I do have a production house for documentaries. It's called Mona Ambegaonkar Productions. (Laughs) Original, huh?

What kind of documentaries do you produce?
I've just finished with four documentaries based on a part of Uttaranchal. They've been sent for a few international festivals. Some have got attention, others haven't. Documentary filmmaking is not a career per se.