Veteran actor Anita Raaj, who plays the dignified yet strong-willed Kaveri Poddar, fondly known as Dadisa, in Star Plus and Rajan Shahi’s Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, opened up about filming the show’s much-talked-about qawwali sequence. Calling it one of the most visually rich and emotionally layered tracks, the actor shared how special the entire experience was for her.
“The moment I heard about the qawwali track, I was genuinely excited. Qawwalis bring so much soul, emotion, and drama together. It instantly felt like a sequence that would add a completely different flavour and energy to the show,” Anita said.
“Qawwalis have a magical way of expressing what characters sometimes cannot say directly, and I think the audience connected with that emotional depth,” she shared.
The actor also revealed that rehearsals played an important role in making the performances appear effortless and graceful on screen.
“There were rehearsals to understand the rhythm and mood of the performance, so everything looked natural and graceful on screen. The glam look for the songs was very elegant and festive. The costumes, jewellery, and makeup were designed beautifully to match the traditional feel of the sequence,” she said.
One of the highlights of the track was Anita Raaj’s solo dance performance, which she describes as one of her favourite moments from the shoot.
“One of my favourite moments was my solo dance, which was choreographed beautifully by Himanshu and Sushant. The moment felt very special. And the icing on the cake was when the choreographers decided that my portion of the song would be done in one shot,” she revealed.
“This qawwali sequence was important because it was Dadisa Kaveri Poddar’s birthday celebration. While it looked celebratory and entertaining on the surface, emotionally it changed a lot between the characters and set the stage for major drama and relationships moving forward,” she concluded.
