Speaking in defence: Ronit Roy

SPEAKING IN DEFENCE

"The larger than life image of Mihir Virani never intimated me,"
says Ronit Roy who shot into fame in the tele circuit after bagging
the
roles of Mihir in Kyunkii.......... and Rishab Bajaj in
Kasautii........
After a lack lustre entry to flms in 1991, Ronit has truly found his
rightful place under the arch lights and needless to say he's
enjoying
every bit of it.

How did you prepare yourself to play the role of Mihir post Amar
Upadhyay and Inder Kumar, especially knowing that Amar had shot to
immense
popularity as Mihir?

It was a big challenge to match up to people's expectation of Mihir
but
the fun lay in accepting a challenge. The mould was cast. I had to
first get into it and then start changing it. I didn't want to make
any
major changes that would shock people. It was a combination of good
luck,
hard work of the creative team and my labour that turned the tide in
my
favour.

Do you think Mihir is a victim of circumstances or a poor handler of
situations?

Neither and both. I think every man can identify with Mihir and his
situation at some point or the other. He's a true man as he stands up
to
his mistake, faces the consequences and tries to make amends. He's
not
spineless at all.

Have you tried to alter the persona of Mihir from before?

Yes, there are some changes. The younger Mihir as played by Amar was
a
god-like figure. An ideal son, an ideal grandson, an ideal husband;
something like Ram. Now Mihir has been humanised.Its probably the
writer
who had conceptualised the growth of the character and I'm fortunate
that I stepped in at a time when I can play challenging emotions. It
has
certainly made my role juicier and given me a lot of scope to perform
and showcase my talent.

Your comment on the role of Rishab Bajaj and how different is it from
Mihir's character?

The 2 charcters are very different from each other. Bajaj is a
typical
businessman and conducts his business without nay emotions.
Everything
is a deal for him. Relations and emotions have little value. What he
does with Prerna is also a deal as he gets in her the best surrogate
mother for his children. But after his return from a near fatal
accident,
he's not only going to look different but also be a different man.

Men on TV seem to be the weaker sex. They are manipulated, trapped by
the women in their lives...

I don't know about the other men in other tele serials. But neither
Bajaj nor Mihir is weak. Yes, they make mistakes but instead of being
cowards, they face the consequences. So I don't think that men in
tele
serials today are the weaker sex.