Humsafars - Hmsphrs - Episode 43 - 1st December 2014

Zeena Bhatia is an actress from Punjab who grew up acting in various theatre plays and dramas across the state. She has grown considerably regarding her career since her inception in the cinema industry. She started out as a junior artist, performing small roles which have very few screen time. However, her screen presence was noticed by a few directors, due to which she was given bigger roles to perform. The movie- ‘Miss Lovely’, in which she acted as a character named ‘Poonam’ is an example as to why her artistic talent must not be underestimated.

The movie itself, directed by Ashim Ahluwalia, was a bold step of the kind that the Indian film industry rarely witnesses. The story was an outlook on the lives of sexual workers in India, viewed through the perspective of two brothers who shoot movies of the genre ‘horror-porn’ The movie skips between different genres- an attempt which was never before tried in the context of Indian Cinema. The themes dealt by the movie are also similarly radical, such as gender identity, censorship and even genre identity.

Zeena’s portrayal of Poonam, a sex worker, received much praise from critics and she gained attention for her honest and natural performance. Her next movie was also a similar movie, in the sense that it stood apart from other conventional movies released in Bollywood. The movie titled Delhi Belly which is directed by Abhinay Deo, and Akshat Verma deals with the story of three roommates who get entangled in a series of misfortune. Though Zeena played as a supporting cast in the movie, the film’s huge success and her wonderful performance brought her fame and new opportunities- This time in the form of a role in one of Sony channel’s television serial.

The show, named as ‘Hamsafars’ had Zeena in the role of the lead character’s Nanny, named as ‘Kurti Aapa’. ‘Kurti Aapa’ is a negative character who tries to dominate other females in a joint family. Being a typical drama serial, there are a lot of clichés one has to resort to while portraying the role of an envious, evil lady. But Zeena breaks all these clichés and delivers the character in her own way, giving ‘Kurti Aapa’ a rustic perfection and naturality. Due to her innovation with the character’s characteristics, audience, especially middle-aged women who are the target audience of the serial, were able to relate to the show easily. Zeena brings perfection to whatever role that she receives.

Darpan Shrivastava is a well known actor known for his negative character in the industry of Indian television. Actor Darpan Shrivastava, in his real life, is not a baddie and loves to help people who are in need. Darpan belongs to the heart of India, Delhi and had pursued his education from the University of Delhi. Currently Darpan Shrivastava has been settled down in Mumbai for the sake of his television career.

Darpan Shrivastava began his acting career during the year 2009, from the Colors television show Bhagyavidhaata - a show that intensifies the dealings of the two families set in rural areas and Darpan played the role of Nageshwar Chacha, an uncle of male protagonists. 

Later Actor Darpan was seen in the Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo television serial premiered on Imagine TV where he played the role of Murari Laal, father of original male lead. Darpan has been essayed with few more television serials like Do Dil Ek Jaan on Life OK and Havan on Colors, Television channel where he has been seen playing a negative role in both the serials who will pose a threat in the show.

Currently, actor Darpan Shrivastava is essaying the role of Kesar Patel, he plays the uncle of Roshni Patel (the female protagonist) in a new super hit television show Jamai raja telecast on Zee Tv.

Another version of this bio...

Darpan Srivastav is a well known Hindi TV serial actor who is known for his great performances in negative roles. He was always interested in acting and took part in plays since his childhood. He was always found to be doing some challenging role or the other and always succeeding in his efforts. 

He was first noticed in the serial 'Bhagyavidhataa' in the role of younger brother of the Patriarch  of Sinha family and played Nageshwar Chacha to the male protagonist Vishal Sinha. His portrayal of the character of Nageshwar with both positive and negative aspects as in a common man was highly praised and he was accepted as a great performer for such challenging roles.  This serial was produced by Tanya Sanjay and Sheel Kumar and directed by Yatin Dang and Prabhat Prahakar. It was aired on Colors TV during 2009 to 2011 and was a great success. 

Then came his next serial “ Afsar Bitiya” in which too he gave a stunning performance. The serial was awarded the best serial with a social message and was also nominated for best female actor in a negative role for Shiv Shakti Sachdev. The female protagonist Mitali Nag also received a nomination for best fresh face of the year. Next came Do Dil Ek jaan where he acted as Manohar and earned accolades for his performance in the negative role.

Presently h is seen in two serials, one in Jamai Raja in Star Plus as Kesar Patel and Humsafars on Sony TV as father of the male protagonist. His performance is being appreciated in both the serials as ever.