Yes, I would love to step outside the costume drama category and play a young urbanite, something closer to who I am. For me, the most important thing is my role. I don’t slot genres according to soap, historical, mytho and crime. Who would have thought that after playing God, I would be playing the vicious and peculiar Dhananand? Stereotypes are challenges and I believe in taking challenges head on!Īfter 'Chandragupta Maurya', which is a historical, are you looking forward to doing a regular daily soap next? What I’m currently playing (Dhananand in ' Chandragupta Maurya') is also something completely different. Of course, the credit for being able to see me in these different avatars goes to the maker, Siddharth Kumar Tewary. Also, who had ever seen Mahadev with a beard and moustache? That may have looked odd to the viewer, who was used to a stereotypical image. Mahadev’s role was challenging and it had shades which I hadn’t explored earlier. No actor had played one God and then been accepted playing another one. And then the show ' Mahakali - Anth Hi Aarambh Hai' came my way. To break the monotony, I did a radio show, anchored shows like 'Savdhaan India', 'Bhakton Ki Bhakti Mein Shakti' and 'Mahapuran'. Breaking the mould was indeed a challenge. But I followed my heart and declined all those offers. People wanted me to make appearances at events as ‘Lord Krishna’, in that attire. After I played Krishna in 'Mahabharat', I was offered similar roles.
When I played Krishna, there were many who said, ‘Why is our Krishna 6 feet 3 inches tall?’ Some said, ‘Why isn’t Krishna darker?’ So, that was the challenge. We all have our fears, but it’s about how you take up the challenge.
After becoming popular in the mythological genre, were you worried about getting stereotyped? How did you manage to break free from the Krishna image?