June,2006
Showtime Magazine
(Typing it out for you)
SUPERSTAR AT 40- RONIT ROY
THE HIGHEST PAID ACTOR ON TELEVISION
"I am not in the Rat Race"
Ronit Roy enjoys the indisputable position of being the only 40-plus
TV actor who's considered just as hot as his 20-something
counterparts. He's just as popular, if not more amongst the ladies and
even today, after a marriage and a baby; the appeal is not diminishing
in the least.
Today, Ronit is at a point where all this does not matter at all.His
focus is restricted to two main spheres- work and family. High-flying
ambitions, the zest to acquire big things in life,the zeal to party
every night...they've all taken a backseat. "When you dont need to
prove anything to anybody, these things dont matter anymore. I'd
rather be known for the kind of person I am or for the work I am doing
than the brand of the car I drive."
For someone who's gone through an enormously long period of struggle,
Ronit has come out fighting and at the top. He's said to be the
highest paid actor in the industry and rightly so, because there are a
few stalwarts who exhibit the same diligence and dedication as Ronit
does towards his career.
Presently, we see him in two dailies, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
and Kasautii Zindagi Kay, both in lead roles.And there was a time when
he played the lead in Sarrkkar too. Doesn't he ever feel he has too
much on his plate? Or is he making uo for the days when there was no
work? He contemplates for a long time before answering,"In a way,yes,I
am making up for it.But it's not a conscious move that because I
struggled once, and things were left wanting, now is the time to make
up. I think today, my time is right. I've been doing Kyunki.. and
Kasautii.. for almost five years. Things used to be quite bad;I would
even shoot twenty hours a day. Now it's much better,I do get an
evening off here and there.I have no complaints regarding matters
related to time or work."
But wasnt taking on Sarrkkar too much? "Yes, it was. Taking on
Sarrkkar, in hindsight, was getting a little too much. Sarrkkar did
not start out as a daily but ended up coming on air 5 times a week. At
that time, even Kasautii and Kyunki.. became 5 days a week. I realised
that doing three dailies in the lead was too much."
Is Ronit satisfied with the saas-bahu staple fare that he is a part
of? "It does get monotonous sometimes. The track cannot be on you all
the time. There are times when it shifts away to somebody else and
your inputs as an actor or the use of your faculties as an actor
diminishes. The positive side of it is that it's your time to relax.
Currently, my tracks in both Kasautii..and Kyunki..require me to work
very hard. By evening, I'm absolutely sapped out. So basically, when
there's a lull phase, it's best to play that time out. Soon, Ekta
brings in something exciting and all your energies are renewed and
there's something new to do within the saas-bahu format. Kasautii is
not really a saas-bahu serial; it's more of a love story. New talent
has come in which has worked for Kasautii.."
That would mean he's absolutely comfortable with generation leaps
unlike most of his colleagues who are quite displeased."Yeah,I'm quite
cool with it. The thing to understand is that unlike the others who
are in their mid to late-twenties, I am 40. So for me to play a 50-60
year old is not a problem For somebody who's 25, who's not seen life,
who's just starting, it's a little jolting when you're asked to play a
50-year old."
Is he looking for something different in terms of work? Something that
would challenge his sensibilities as an actor perhaps?" I was offered
Aman's (Verma) role in Virasat.I was really looking forward to that
because that would have been totally different. What was narrated to
me was an out and out negative role. But again, time and prior
commitments did not allow me to take it up. See, there's no point in
looking because even if I find it, I cant do anything about it.Rather,
let me finish these two commitments."
It is these two commitments that have made Ronit into a superstar and
both come from the Balaji stable. And he agrees that Balaji has, to a
large extent, resurrected his career. Infact, he's now called the
Amitabh Bachchan of TV. It must be a great feeling, right? He breaks
into laughter and as he says "Although it's an honour, the body of
work that Mr Bachchan has done, I dont think I've done even
one-hundredth of that quality of work. Even in terms of television,
Amitabh Bachchan of TV is Amitabh Bachchan with KBC. But I'm happy
that I've been successful in this opportunity to even be mentioned in
the same breath as him."
Has Ronit ever thought about giving films another try? "When I moved
to TV, a lot of people asked me what made me move from films to
television? But for me, it was quite the case of beggars cant be
choosers."
He narrates an incident that deeply affected him,"This happened when I
was shooting a film in Dalhousie. I was sitting there with my fellow
actors and a group of school children came there.Among them, was a
very sweet girl. One of the actors called out to her and asked her
what her name was. She gave her name. Then he asked her what her
father did. That kind of struck a chord in me. If you're an actor,
then nobody should have to ask what your father does. They should
know.That was the last film I did.After that I decided that if I would
do work as an actor; it would only be quality work and if I didnt get
any, then I wouldnt work at all."
He goes on to add,"When I look at the work I've done in the past, as
an actor, I have been terrible.Even now I dont think I'm a great actor
or anything but my past work was very, very bad. Maybe it was a
viscious circle that I was not a good actor or I wasnt delivering so I
was not getting good work. Whatever it was, all's well that ends well.
As far as looking for films is concerned, I stopped looking after the
Dalhousie incident. Infact, till date, I've never gone to a prodcer's
office, I dont even have a portfolio. I dont ask for work, the reason
being if somebody thinks I'm capable of handling a particular role,
they'll come to me anyway. I like it that way. The biggies like Yash
Chopraji, Subhashji (Ghai), Ramuji (Gopal Varma) or Sanjay Leela
Bhansali, if they think there is a role I can do, I dont mind audtioning."
Ronit shares a very warm relationship with Subhash Ghai whom he
considers a father figure."Mr Ghai is like a father to me. When I came
to Mumbai,I lived with him. In my journey from boy to man, whether it
was grooming or anything else, he had a very big hand. Although he
never spoilt me or gave me anything that I did not deserve, he didnt
give me things I deserved also. But we wont go there. He taught me a
lot; he let me take my decisions by myself; wrong ones, right ones,
whatever they were. I used to be a very cocky boy so maybe he let me
take those wrong decisions or make those wrong moves otherwise,I
wouldn't have learnt. Some people need to be whacked to learn a
lesson. I guess I was one of those kids. But otherwise he shielded me
like a father. That struggle for your vada pav, I never had to do.
Eventually, after that, when I left his house and started living on my
own, those five-six years, the downhill ride began. Questions like how
am I going to pay my rent came up.I still feel I've led a charmed
life.Someone up there loves me because from some quarter or other,
money used to come. I've been down but never out completely."
As far as Ronit's personal life is concerned, he;s akways been linked
with younger women, like his daughters in Kasautii, Jennifer Winget
and Surveen Chawla. "All this does not bother me nor does it bother
them.When the link-up with Surveen happened, I got worried for her. I
told her let me call up your parents and talk to them. They're far
away; they dont know the real story. But she said she'd spoken to them
them and they knew it wasnt true. The only logical conclusion as to
how these things start is that when you have a large ensemble of
actors, say some 15 or 20, it is not necessary that everybody has to
get along with one another. Because there are so many different
personalities at work. You know, when two men are buddies and they
hang out together, then nobody says they're gay or having an affair.
Somehow it happens when a man and a woman spend time on the sets which
inevitably happens when you're shooting together for 12-14 hours,
you're bound to get into a conversation with somebody. Through those
conversations, you get along with some people and don't get along with
some."
He elaborates,"There are also other factors at play like jealousy and
petty thinking.You cant avoid that completely. Even if you keep it to
yourself, you're called arrogant. So it's a no-win situation. But I
guess, whoever these young girls are, whom I've been linked with,
their families know me, my family knows me, all my fans and friends
know that nothing's happening. It makes for good reading, that's it."
Does he feel his once-upon-a-time Casanova image has now tamed down
considerably? "I had that tag but it's not so much now. Even then, I
was always a one-woman man. I never went around doing the Casanova
kind of things. But yes, at that point of time, I was a bachelor, so I
had more women friends.Let me tell you about this incident which
happened in the early 90's. Some magazine carried an article about me
with an blonde girl in a discotheque and they wrote a very spicy
story. Now that girl happens to be my cousin. When something like this
happens, what do you do?"
He states succintly,"There are a lot of factors that could have helped
in ridding me of the Casanova tag.I'm married, and there's my age. I
don't even go out anymore. Even if I do, it's very rare.I've gone out
so much in the phase when I had nothing much to do.I guess with age,
most people quieten down. Also,I dont enjoy drinking anymore. My
morning starts very early with martial arts. So if I drink,the whole
day goes out of control."
Life for Ronit seems extremely disciplined.Perhaps it is the calm of
his personal life that helps him deal with the unruly atmosphere on
the Kasautii sets,"Firstly, I know people say it but I dont agree with
the fact that nobody gets along on the set. If you're talking about
Cezzane and Shweta and me,one thing I'll say about both of them is
that they're professionals. People come, do their job, and go away.
Shweta is married, she has a child, and I'm sure apart from work, she
has a lot of things to do at home. Cezzane must have a lot of things
to do other than shooting. Eventually, nobody's life is problem-free.
When these problems accumulate, there has to be a vent. But I must say
that most things reported are blown out of proportion."
So the recent fracas that happened on the set, involving Shweta
punching Ronit, was not true then? "No, it's true.It did happen. But
that's okay because that was her reaction to it. I dont hold it
against her. It's forgotten and done with."
That would mean all this doesn't matter at all."It shouldn't matter.
You're there to do a job. Immediately after that incident, we did a
scene togethr and it was highly appreciated.That's the bottom line,
whether you're delivering or not. Even after the punch, there is no
animosity. We dont call each other names. Things happen, people move
on. I move on too, I dont have the habit of carrying my past baggage
with me."
Ronit's approach to life is very much influenced by the spirituality
that embodies it. Has he always been spiritual or is this something he
has moved towards over the years? "I haven't always been spiritual.
Maybe 15 years earlier,I might have reacted differently. I am still
learning the basics and the roots of spirituality. I'm trying to
answer a lot of questions, find a lot of things. I dont know why I've
suddenly become spiritual though. Maybe because my Jupiter in in the
7th house and my Mars in teh 12th house. I think it's a good way to
lead your life.Like I said,all the baggage is lost because the past is
in the past. I have the habit of living in the now, in the present,
living in today because living in the past is gone and tomorrow is not
yet here. So there's no point worrying about them."
He firmly says,"I hold no grudges, I have nothing to prove to
anybody.I'm not in the rat race and dont even want to be. If somebody
is winning or is ahead of me,I'll be happy for them.I'm very happy
where I am,I dont want to compete. What Ekta expects from me,I strive
to do a little better than that."
Today, Ronit can state all of this emphatically because he's anyway at
the top of the marquee. He need not prove anything because he's
already accepted as the very best. And if there are any doubts, Ronit
will only strive harder to get better!
-Sneha Kamat
:)
From me aka Sukhi- you'd BETTER like this coz this took an HOUR to
type! LOL!
Anupamaa
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
