Barun Appreciation Thread....Join all....Anything and everything of BS - Page 23

It took him five years to return to TV after his hit show, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? (IPKKND), ended in 2012. His fans were excited to have him back on the small screen when the third instalment of the IPKKND series, aired in 2017. But the show ended in four months and Barun Sobti hasn't done a TV show since then. It's not that he doesn't enjoy the medium; he says he isn't comfortable with the way the TV routine works for artistes. In a tte--tte with The Times of India, the actor explains what keeps him away from television, the failure of IPKKND 3, and the kind of roles he wants to take on as an actor.

TV took you to every Indian household and you received a lot of love because of the medium. Why have you been away from it for a while?

TV is a powerful medium, as it reaches out to so many people. The only problem that I have is with the format and programming. It's impossible to do something round the clock for years and still be creative about it. I've always maintained that everything can be done well, but writing is bound to get compromised with the kind of pressure that exists on TV. The ratings force the writers to go into the same zone over and over again, and you can't write something extraordinary every day. It's untrue to creativity. I would love to see the programming change in television.

What kind of a change do you want to see?

It would be great if we start making more finite shows. That way, everyone would know what they are getting into. Anything that has a definite end is invariably precise and a more promising product, as compared to a show that has an abrupt ending. It's interesting for both the audience as well as artistes.

In one of your interviews, you said that TV gets demanding because it's exhaustive...

TV actors are always insecure and they fear getting replaced. Since there's a huge influx of actors, nobody voices their concerns or opinions. So, you keep working for long hours, which is absolutely against the labour laws. It's a bitter-sweet thing. When you become popular as the lead of a show, you are expected to shoot for 12 hours every single day! You don't have a choice. There are some artistes who throw tantrums, and say that they won't shoot for more than three hours, but I'm not that kind of a person. So, I have to kill my conscience. As humans, we need to respect everyone's time. Lekin apni industry mein sab chalta hai. Yahan aap poora din kaam karte raho, koi farak nahin padta hai kisi ko. Once people start making money from a show, then it's not about creativity anymore.

So, what made you take on Iss Pyar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3 (IPKKND3)?

I did it because it was always meant to be a finite show. It was supposed to run for six months, but it ended in four because the ratings weren't good. It sounded good on the story level. Even today, if I'm offered a finite show, I will take it up, because I would love to be one of the first actors to initiate a change in the format and programming on the small screen.



Why do you think IPKKND 3 didn't do well? Do you think people didn't accept it, because your 2011 show with Sanaya Irani had set a high benchmark?

When the first IPKKND did well, people would walk up to me and appreciate the show because of my acting. I would tell them that no one knows the kind of collective effort that goes into writing these shows. So, the whole team deserves the credit for its success. Similarly, if a show doesn't do well, the whole team needs to take the hit, too. I can't pick a reason why the show didn't do well. I think it didn't work as a package.

For many TV actors, Bollywood is a natural progression. Was getting into films your ultimate aim, too?

When I was doing television, the digital medium wasn't around and TV was becoming increasingly difficult. That's why films happened. There was no dream of getting into Bollywood as such. My journey has been a progression. I always accept or reject projects on the basis of content. As an actor, I get involved and try to do the best I can in every project I work on. And for me, it's the day's job that has to be satisfying, and not a project as a whole. If you base your satisfaction on how people like it or what the box-office collection of a project is like, then it's difficult to survive here.