'Liberty necessary for better upbringing'

Monica Sehgal, who will make her acting debut with TV show "Dosti...Yariyaan...Manmarzian" -- a realistic side of the journey of a girl, believes that liberty is essential for better upbringing.

Monica will be seen playing the role of small town girl Radhika Mishra.

"Radhika is at that stage of her life where she is done with her graduation and now her parents think that she should get married. Although, she is not against the whole concept of marriage, all she is asking her parents is that before she gets married, she wants to create her own identity," Monica told IANS.

Asked whether too much liberty can leave negative impact on youth, she said: "Research has shown that youngsters who are not given certain level of liberty by their parents pick up bad habits much quicker than the ones whose parents are free minded.

"My parents gave me the liberty to be here in Mumbai and go ahead with my further education. In fact, they didn't restrict me from anything and I had that choice to go out with my friends and drink. But I chose the opposite side because I didn't like it and I'm comfortable with it today.

"Liberty is good as it depends upon your upbringing. What you have been taught by your parents. So it's necessary for better upbringing," she added.

Although Monica admits that the show's concept is not new, she says it will depict more reality than fiction.

"The concept of 'Manmarziyan' is something that each and every girl is going to connect with. Whether that girl is going through that phase or has been through that stage of life.

"There have been shows with similar concept, but they have mostly shown the daughter compromising with the concept of marriage. But 'Manmarziyan' will show Radhika convincing her parents to let her do what she wants to," she said.

She also shared that her character is not a rebellious girl, who will go against her parents and then hurt anyone's feelings.

"It will show a child's upbringing, which reflects on her mannerism. So, we are trying to show the realistic side of the journey of a girl," said Monica.

Was there any pressure on her regarding marriage?

Monica said: "I'm very much similar to Radhika because I also belong to a small town. I came to Mumbai from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh to pursue higher education.

"But thankfully my parents have been very liberal and the message that this show is trying to give is something that my parents already follow. So, I feel proud that I'm giving out this message to all the girls," she said.

"Dosti...Yariyaan...Manmarzian" will be aired on Star Plus starting Monday.