An Intro of this talented lady

Introducing: Kunika Sadanand Lall

She’s quarter Coorgi, quarter Kannadiga, quarter Scottish and quarter Punjabi and comes from a defence background. Born in Kanpur, she studied at St Mary’s Convent, Nainital and later in the Central School.

“I learnt Bharat Natyam and music in school and dabbled in acting and ramp walking in Delhi. Acting was just an extension of all these activities,” she recalls. After doing a few serials, she came to Mumbai with stars in her eyes. “I wanted to act in films and had fared well in a screen test.
But actor Hemant Birje (of Tarzan fame) refused to act with a rank newcomer like me. I went back to Delhi teary-eyed, determined that I would not let any one man rule my destiny.” Working in sales at the Grand Intercontinental, Delhi, for about six months and she started to feel stagnated.

A failed marriage at 20, and going through a bitter custody battle for her son at 21, she decided she needed to make a fresh start and returned to Mumbai.
On the flight, she met Asrani and complimented his wife’s serial Kashmakash . He encouraged her to speak his wife and it was Manju Asrani who gave Kunika a break.
After that, films followed. “People said I would be a great vamp because I was tall, thin and sexy.
They kept saying ‘Bindu ka slot khaali hai, Aruna Irani ka slot khaali hai’. I have done 90 films in 16 years.

My last ‘Mona darling’ role was in Mohra . That’s when she decided to change her image drastically. Swabhimaan , where she played an 18-year-old mother was a breakthrough role that won her many plaudits.
“What I didn’t get in seven years of films, I achieved within three months of Swabhimaan,” she confides.

Then, negative roles in films like Beta, Gumraah and Khiladi followed. “But now I try to play it understated, not the typical loud dialogues. I like to be realistic. Sometimes there are differences of opinion with Zee,” says the spunky woman. She had changed her name to Mallika sometime ago because someone told her she wouldn’t be able to get married if she didn’t. Ironically, her husband didn’t really like the name Mallika and she reverted to Kunika soon enough.
On air: “According to me, the fact that I carry off being a bad person with a good exterior is what makes my role popular. It’s like, I do something or talk to someone, and it’s only at the end of the episode that I have this look upon my face, which shows that I was actually up to something terribly evil.” For Kittie Party, she shoots a 12-hour schedule, five to seven days a month, despite having a small baby.

“I don’t have any problems remembering dialogue. And when I start putting my make-up on, I slip into Vasundhara’s shoes, the way she walks, the way she thinks...” she says.
Coming soon: “I’m not doing any more TV serials apart from Kittie Party, for I’d prefer to concentrate on films. I’d love to be a female Paresh Rawal,” she confides.