Actor Gauri Pradhan, who shot to fame when she appeared in popular shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kutumb, took a break from the small screen for several years before making her comeback with Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hi in 2014. The reason she took the sabbatical was to look after her twins, Katya and Neevan, born in 2009.

Asked whether anything has changed in television in all these years, she says, “Content-wise, it has; otherwise, everything is the same. The content has become bolder. People are open to more ideas, and there are a lot of interesting concepts coming up. It’s fun to work when people are willing to try new things.”

The one thing she rues is the fact that doing television leaves you with very less or almost no family time. “It’s very tough. We are shooting for 12 hours at a stretch (for my current show). On some days I get lucky and we wrap up in less time. My schedule is very tough — I get up at 5 in the morning, get my kids ready for school, and do my workout and yoga. Then I leave for my shoot by 10-10.30, and usually return by 9. I try to take offs whenever possible so that I can spend time with my kids,” the actor says.

Things became even more difficult for Gauri, when her husband, actor Hiten Tejwani, participated in Bigg Boss, a reality show where he had to live in a house with other contestants, away from their families. “It was even more hard work . I had to do everything single-handedly. There was so much of running around that it became physically and mentally taxing.