A clash of traditional and modern values in Chhanchhan..

Actress Sanaya Irani, who plays the title role in telly show Chhanchhan, is excited about the way its storyline is developing. Chhanchhan is a modern girl who falls in love with — and marries — a guy from a traditional family. The story, a typical clash between tradition and modernity, revolves around how Chhanchhan tackles her extremely conservative and manipulative mother-in-law.

Sanaya Irani and Anuj Sachdeva

"Just because Chhanchhan is modern, it doesn't mean she has no values. My character is not averse to adjustments, it's just that she wants her in-laws to adjust too. But adjusting becomes difficult when one has to listen to someone who is dictating all the time. Supriyaji ( Supriya Pathak), who plays my mother-in-law, is like a terror," says Sanaya.

For Sanaya's male lead, Anuj Sachdeva, the biggest challenge was to underplay his heavy Punjabi accent and speak like a typical Gujarati boy next door. Anuj, however, perfected the art with a little help from his Gujarati friends and co-stars. "First of all, I had to stop saying 'yun' , that typical Delhi word. I took about a week to change my accent and tone," says Anuj, who replaced Farhan Khan as the male protagonist on the show a few weeks ago. The actor was initially worried whether the audience would accept him as Manav (his character). "But after thefeedback I have got so far, I feel positive," he says.