Angad does a double whammy (Article)

Angad does a double whammy

Iqbal Khan prepares to get even with his enemies on Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai

Iqbal Khan can't get over it. "Back home in Kashmir, my show is more popular than KBC. When I went home recently, I was treated like a rock star, he says."

The character Angad in Sony's Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai will now have a double.

According to our sources, it's just the protagonist Angad inventing his own double to get even with his enemies….sort of what Dev Anand did in Vijay Anand's crime caper Jewel Thief.

Angad's godmother Ekta Kapoor says, "Iqbal Khan is rocking as Angad. He'll remain exclusive to Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai. His popularity is unmatched. He has no time to do another show."

Fate charts a strange path for the unsuspecting. Iqbal Khan started his career as the disastrous debutant in the farce Funtoosh.

He says, "My career could've been wiped out after that. Then came another film, the thriller Bullet. We all worked very hard on the action scenes that were shot in Bulgaria. But the film fell apart."

At that point in his career, this Kashmiri actor would have probably returned home. But then television happened. "I don't know what I'd have done if Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai hadn't come along. My well-wishers told me going from cinema to television would kill my chances in the movies."

He adds, "But you know what? I'm glad movies didn't happen. Better rule the small screen than struggle on the large screen…I had no one to give me a decent break in movies. Thank God for Ekta Kapoor who thought me apt to play Angad in Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai."

There's no looking back for Iqbal today and he says, "The fan mail and adulation I get is overwhelming. My fans are mostly girls and they send me gifts like chocolates and candles to show how much they love me. I love every minute of this sudden hyper-activity in my life. Actually, I was working for 23 hours a day. I had to be hospitalised twice for exhaustion. Now I work 13 hours. There's no time to do any other serial at all, Iqbal says."

Does Iqbal face an identity crisis when people call out to him as Angad? "Not at all. There's only one Angad. And he's played by Iqbal Khan. There's no confusion about the identity, he says."

Iqbal shyly reveals more about is personal life and says, "I am in love. Her name is Sneha Chhabra and she has been with me right from the beginning when I was strugging and travelled by trains and buses. She stood by me through thick and thin."

So is marriage on the cards? "Not for another four years as I need to buy a house, build on my saving account. I think I need to ask for a raise," he jokes.

* I was working as many as 23 hours a day and had to be hospitalised— Iqbal