Popular actor Alpana Buch, better known as Baa from Anupamaa, produced by Deepa Shahi and Rajan Shahi, speaks about her friends on the occasion of Friendship Day. She says, “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything. I am fortunate enough to have learned in my childhood what friendship really means. Alpana, as an individual, is blessed to have so many ‘real friends’ who walk in when the rest of the world walks out. And on the other side, Leela (in the show Anupamaa) as a character also has many friends. There are millions of people who love Leela Baa so much that they have accepted her as their best friend. They support Leela Baa and get angry at their friend Leela Baa when she is wrong. Leela Baa’s fans across the world are her best friends.”
Talking about her best friend in real life, Alpana says, “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me. A good friend is a connection to life—a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. I am lucky and blessed to have a long list of such true friends.” She also adds, “‘Dost banaaye nahi jaate, ban jate hai’… it’s all about wavelength. According to me, friendship is the perfect synchronization of two similar energies. That’s the reason I have all my real friends, exactly as I wanted them to be—transparent, open, and honest.”
Alpana also shares how she maintains her friendships despite her busy schedule. She says, “In the modern world of communication, I think it’s not difficult to be in touch with your friends. Sometimes, due to a non-stop shooting schedule, it’s difficult for me to be in touch with them, but I also believe that if it’s a real friendship, then it doesn’t need maintenance. It’s about being in each other’s thoughts forever.”
Alpana, who is a popular face in the industry as well as on the sets of Anupamaa, says, “Everyone on the sets of Anupamaa is my friend. We spend most of our time together on set, so I am surrounded by like-minded friends who are always there when I need their support. They are always there to cherish my happiness and share my sorrow. A good friend is like a four-leaf clover; hard to find and lucky to have. Rupali Ganguly, who is my best friend off-camera, playing my enemy on-screen, always helps me enhance my performance. The fun is that with whom Leela Baa fought during the scene shares her food as Alpana during the lunch hour.”
In the end, Alpana shares how good friends are important in her life. She adds, “Good friends help you find important things like your smile, your hope, and your courage when you have lost them. I can only say that I have true friends all around me because I never lost my smile, my hope, and my courage.”
