EXCLUSIVE | 'Four Years Later' actress Shahana Goswami: 'Today, people live in long distance relationship by choice...'

Newlyweds Sridevi and Yash marry in India, but are forced to spend four years apart when he moves to Australia for a medical traineeship; finally reunited in Australia, they try to come to terms with all that’s happened in the intervening years- This is the crux of Shahana Goswami and Akshay Ajit Singh’s show Four Years Later.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Shahana spoke about preparing for her character, the similarities between her and Sridevi, and the evolution of love over the years.

Edited excerpts from the interview

How did you prepare for your character Sridevi in Four Years Later?

I didn’t have to do much preparation in terms of I think, Sridevi is a very spontaneous, natural character in, many ways and also very close to my personality in a sense. So there was relatively less prep in that sense. Prep for any project, otherwise, is the basics of going through the script with the with the writers, directors, with your co actor, and kind of looking at the nuances in the scene, the different emotions, the feel. So more just a kind of dialogue and discussion and building, based on whatever instincts show up in that moment.

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What are the similarities between you and your character?

Her zest for life, her curiosity for life, her ability to engage with people, her adaptability into new spaces, her desire to not kind of be by the book when it comes to who she is and how she is. But she also has a kind of softness to her, a kind of warmth to her. So I would say these are the things that are similar, to my character.

How much do you feel the definition of love has changed or evolved over the years?

In some sense, it has remained the same and, in other sense, constantly shifting and evolving and changing as we as human beings are changing. And so, definitely, over the years, I think there’s been a larger focus, in a healthy way towards the self in terms of people, you know, focusing a little bit more on their own individual growth, their own individual needs, their journeys, and looking at relationships, not just as a means to completing oneself, fulfilling a void, but kind of walking alongside, another.

And I think over time, because of this sense of individuality that has grown, across society, across people, it has also made people revisit, what a relationship looks like. Today, people live in long distance relationship by choice, and they make it work in whatever way they can. At the same time, I also do feel that sometimes that individual streak ends up creating more distance and creating a sense of not wanting to compromise, which is an essential part of any relating between two people.

Even in friendships, even in family relationships, there is a level of compromise or coming together or meeting halfway that needs to be there. And I feel like sometimes maybe that aspect, gets overlooked in the attempt to want to assert one’s own individuality.

What was the joy and the challenge to play this character in Four Years Later?

I mean, the joy was, for me, I suppose, being able to express the side of my personality that I don’t get a chance to do as often. I think most of my films, the characters that I’ve played are very serious, very hard hitting, and very often, I don’t even get an opportunity to smile or laugh as much. It’s a love story and to be able to play out that romantic aspect, which also I don’t get much of an opportunity to do.