The Zee Theatre stars talk about the loved ones they share this special day with

After two years of pandemic-induced social distancing, the festival season in India will finally see people connecting organically to celebrate Raksha Bandhan. Actors Suchitra Pillai and Geetika Tyagi are looking forward to sharing some quality time with their families and speaking about a few cherished moments they have shared with their loved ones.

Suchitra Pillai, who stars in Zee Theatre’s teleplay ‘Dance Like a Man, says, “Raksha Bandhan’ is a word that gives a woman, a certain sense of security that there’s at least one person in the world who will always protect her. This is also the day when I get to finally see my Rakhi brothers in person.”

Suchitra is looking forward to reconnecting with her first cousin Ramesh Nair who is a US-based architect. She says, “I love his dependability and never say die attitude but when I was a scrawny kid, he used to treat me as a dumbbell and do his weight training by lifting me! Then there is actor Amit Behl who is my college senior from 30 years ago. Amit was my saviour and protector during ragging sessions at our engineering college and right from the first day we met, he became my brother. I love his zest for life and determination to overcome any hurdle. And of course, there is entrepreneur Ashish Shah, my Rakhi brother for over 22 years who is always calm regardless of the situation and lives life to the fullest. ”

Geetika Tyagi, who plays the lead role in Zee Theatre’s teleplay ‘Ok Tata Bye Bye’ says, “We are a family of three girls and we celebrate Raksha Bandhan in a unique way. While I tie rakhi to my father, who is our protector, my younger sisters Rashi and Taru tie rakhi to me. We haven’t felt the void of a brother to date, to be honest. We know that we are there for each other through thick and thin and for us, the gender of the sibling, does not matter. Even when I am away on a shoot or travelling, my sisters send me rakhi via mail.”

Geetika laughingly shares that her seemingly docile sister Rashi is the main brat of the family. She recalls, “Since I was always the outspoken one as a child, I used to get all the beating and scolding and get blamed for her mischief in school and in the neighbourhood.”

The recent illness of her father brought the sisters even closer. As Geetika says, “We almost lost our dad when he suffered heart failure and was on a ventilator for about two and a half months. This is when we truly understood what family means and came even closer and managed everything like one unit.”

Even though she and her sisters have different interests, they remain closely bonded and continue to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with great affection.