an article on sujal

Arrogant, Insufferable, Opioninated, Vain? All the Rumours about India's hottest TV star Rajiv Khandelwal crumble to the dust as he talks to Subhash K Jha.

He has certainly moved on. 'Kahiin To Hoga' is over for me. I don't know how people started these rumours that I wanted to go back the serial. It re-started the mud-slinging between me and Ekta. I'm sure they too would never want me back. But if she offers me something I like I don't mind going back to Balajee."

And now Rajiv is busy using his celebrity status to propagate causes he believes in. He was in Agra to promote the use of condoms. And now he goes to Patna in December for the same.

"It's been organized by US AID. If all goes well I'll be in Patna in the beginning of December. The only problem is how do I put forward the message in Hindi? English will be useless in the cow belt."

This tv superstar says he enjoys doing live shows.

"It is very humbling. When I went to Gauwhati for a show a 60-year old lady was screaming 'Sujal' and she held a hand-stitched pull-over with Sujal written on it. I asked her how she knew she'd one day run into me(a pullover can't be knitted overnight). She said she just knew."

Another lady called me from Goa telling me she prays for me each time she goes to the church. I wonder what I've done to deserve this kind of love! It makes me feel very obligated. I cannot enjoy this popularity without giving back to the audience the love they give me. I can't make one wrong move. I won't do any old serial that comes my way."

Rajiv comes across as confident committed and sincere.

"I don't know why I'm considered highhanded. Those who know me don't despise me. Probably these rumours have to do with the insecurities of the rumour-mongers. They've nothing to do with me. I don't care about such allegations. I care about my work and the people I work with. If the spotboys feel I'm not a good humanbeing then it'd be time for me to get seriously worried."

He's surprisingly honest about his rift with Ekta Kapoor. "We both know what happened. It was a mutual decision for me to move on. Her ideas on how to play Sujal didn't jell with me. The actor within me couldn't agree with the way she wanted the role to be played. I could've worked with Balajee Telefilms for ten more years."

"They could've slashed my price, and I wouldn't have cared. But the liberties being taken with logistics in my characterization were unbearable for me. I was being watched minutely by viewers. It was Sujal who became a rage, not Rajiv Khandelwal."

"When I'd go abroad as Sujal I'd be mobbed far more intensely than so many film stars. Women threw jewellery at me. Did I have the right to enjoy Sujal's stardom when I was no longer enjoying playing him?"

Not that Rajiv is putting the sensation caused by Sujal behind him.

"I won't be modest. I know how popular Sujal was. Amna Sharif and I made a good pair. We've been offered a number of films together. But it has to be something worthwhile. I keep getting film offers. But I can't relate to them. I haven't heard something that excites me. Either it's a sex comedy or a meaningless romantic film."

Why don't they ask me to do something that'd justify my presence? I don't want to be in films just to encash on Sujal's popularity. I'm following my heart. I'm not here to make a difference. I just want to do what I believe in. Right now I'm taking a month's sabbatical."

"I don't think I gave a mind-blowing performance as Sujal. But I poured my heart into it. I used behave like Sujal off-camera. My character had to die before it got corrupted. I wanted Sujal to be remembered as the small-screen Ranjha/Romeo. I want to break the rules. I've enough money to survive comfortably for six months."

His new crime thriller Time Bomb is a letdown.

Rajiv tries to be discreet. "I won't be dishonest. I did my best on the serial. I can't comment on other departments of the serial. It did succeed in getting me out the chcocolate-box image which people thought was insurmountable. I think Sujal cannot be forgotten. But Varun in Time Bomb wasn't rejected. People liked my action sequence."

"If I was ripped for it, that's ok. It means I make a difference. I don't go out my way to offend people.It would be improper to comment. But yes I had certain expectations. And I got to work with awesome people. I evolved as a person and actor, I was given a rupee. I tried to show it as 5. I'm not doing the second season of Time Bomb."

He's clueless about what he does next. "I'm doing a cameo in Sony's CID. I'll hold back as long as I can. I'll try not to do routine stuff as long as I can. I'm an optimist. I won't do something mediocre. Unfortunately the tv industry and I both need to grow a lot more. I want to work with intelligent people."

Rajiv laughs off the rumours about him and his Kahiin To Hoga co-star Amna Sharif. "The rumours about Amna and me are just rumours. We both enjoy these rumours. In fact we add spice to them by going for events together as a couple. Marriage is not on the cards for a long time. It can happen any time. My younger brother recently married out of the blue . It may happen to me too."

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source:santabanta.com