Versatile actor Rupal Patel will exhibit her talent as actor with Rajan Shahi’s new show launching tonight, Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke on Star Plus. The show is the spin-off of the longest running Director’s Kut show, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.

Rupal will essay the role of Meenakshi Rajvansh, the matriarch in the main family.

Says Rupal, “I essay a very powerful role. Meenakshi Rajvansh takes care of everything from the business empire to everything at home. And whenever there is any problem, she is the one who sorts things out. The character’s contribution in the story is what attracts an artist the most. I am happy that I have bagged this role in the show.”

Rupal who played the towering personality of Kokila in Saath Nibhana Saathiya on Star Plus feels that this character is very much different from her earlier iconic character. “Meenakshi is very modern unlike Koki. Her approach to life is very modern, but when it comes to her family, she is very strict and straight forward. The kind of look given to me here is very different from how Koki looked. Koki was very serious about things, but you can see Meenakshi smile, laugh and chat a lot with her family. However, when she is stressed or when something is wrong, she surely can take her own stand.”

“Viewers have showered their unconditional love on me when I was seen as Koki. I will love it if viewers appreciated my hard work in Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke. They will surely love this character,” adds Rupal.

Rupal Patel has a special mention for actor Shaheer Sheikh who plays her son Abeer Rajvansh. “Shaheer is very caring and loving and is a wonderful artist. It is a very good team to work with.”

This is the first time that Rupal is working with ace Producer Rajan Shahi. “Rajanji is a very lovely person to work with. Everything on his set is so very organized and well-lanned. I am enjoying my work out here.”

Rupal has shed quite a lot of weight and when we ask her about it, she laughs it off and says, “I wanted this change in me to be a pleasant surprise for my fans. Actually when you are working for a daily soap, you do not get much time for yourself. So after Saathiya ended, I decided to work on myself. I used to diet a lot, exercise and even walk quite a lot. When there is a mindset to lose weight, and it is etched in you mentally, it gets easier to work on yourself and reduce. The same happened to me.”

Rupal, wish you all the very best!!