Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) His role in Ramesh Sippy’s mega serial “Buniyaad” gave him his first taste of success and he followed it up with “Dard” and “Saans”. Actor Kanwaljit Singh, who has returned to television after three years, reveals he was offered a ’saas-bahu’ soap but turned it down.
“I was offered a very important role in one of the popular ’saas-bahu’ shows but I declined. When one kind of show becomes a hit, every channel starts running similar shows. Channels race among one another and bring out the same formats. I felt the need of doing something fresh,” Kanwaljit told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

Another reason he stayed away from the small screen for a while was that serials with similar themes were the only projects coming his way and he didn’t want to get stereotyped.

“I was being offered shows which were very similar in content and concept. I didn’t want to do anything for the sake of it. I didn’t want to get stuck doing the same thing. When a person makes choices, sometimes they are right and sometimes wrong. I too made a choice,” said Kanwaljit, who is making a comeback with new show “Sabki Laadli-Bebo” on STAR Plus.

The actor said he signed up for the new project, which is pro-girl child, because he found it meaningful and suited his age.

“I decided to take up ‘Sabki Laadli-Bebo’ because the show is very well-written. If a programme is not written well, it falls flat, but I knew that this won’t be the case with this show. The screenplay, the plot, everything was interesting,” said Kanwaljit, who was also seen in films like “Satte Pe Satta”, “Maachis” and “15 Park Avenue”.

“Also, I was keen to play the character because it was a lead role and something that will suit my age. Today, actors half my age are putting white powder on their hair and portraying characters much older than they are. So I am happy to do this role that is suitable for my age,” he added.

“Sabki Laadli-Bebo”, which started March 11 and airs daily at 10 p.m., revolves around a family that has always yearned for a baby girl. After three sons, they are eventually blessed with a girl who is pampered by all and lives like a princess until she comes face to face with adversities.

Kanwaljit added that life was much easier for a television actor when he started his career with “Buniyaad” (1987).

“Earlier, life as a television actor was easier than today because we used to have weekly shows back then. Today it is so stressful. The shows are daily soaps where you don’t even have ample time to work on the nuances, the lines, etc,” said the actor who was last seen in “Aisa Des Hai Mera” on Sony in 2006.

Many TV actors are taking part in reality shows nowadays and Kanwaljit too is not averse to the idea. But he admits he would prefer hosting a show.

“I don’t mind the concept of a reality show, but it should be interesting. I would love to do a reality show where I can question some intellectuals or maybe something like the show ‘Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai’, which was hosted by Farooque Shaikh,” Kanwaljit said.