Kavya se Kunal tak

E ijaz Khan is on a roll, though his popular lead track of Kavya in Kavyanajali got fi- nally bumped off this week af- ter days of speculation about its impending death. Eijaz had taken the role as a last-minute replacement when its much-publicised original lead, Rakshat Sahni, had failed to match his hyped launch. Through his restrained per- formance, Eijaz registered a cautious entry, eventually taking one of TV's most sissy characters ever to a surpris- ing height of fan following as a good, vulnerable man. In marked contrast, in his latest avatar, he plays a spoilt rich Casanova, Kunal Saigal, in Balaji's new offering on Star One, Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka. A tte--tte with telly's latest chocolate boy, on his journey Kavya se Kunal tak. Now that Kavya has died, how does it feel? Kavya was a character with whom anything could go wrong anytime. After a close brush with death in four or five instances, the character finally met its end a year after I made my entry. Feels like coming full circle. You resuscitated the character at a time when the serial had touched an all-time low. How did you manage it? I was pleasantly shocked when Ekta approached me as Kavya's replacement, as a lot of publicity had gone into estab- lishing the original Kavya (Rakshat Sah- ni). But today, when people think of Kavya, they visualise me and not Rakshat, which is a proof of the success of my track. Whatever I have achieved today, 50 per cent of it is courtesy Kavya and the rest due to the work I did before Kavya, which helped me bag the role. How do you react to the notion that Kavya was a sissy character? I would rather say that Kavya is one of the most-loved characters on TV. His mother's excessive love may have made him over-reactive, but a lot of people who have grown up in a protective envi- ronment tend to be like that. The character also earned you the reputation of being one of the best criers on telly... I haven't cried so much in my entire life as I have in the last one year playing Kavya. Every time I went for the shoot, I would mentally prepare myself by say- ing, 'Chalo aaj Kavyanajali ka shoot hai, matlab aaj rona hai.' I have cried for everybody in the serial -- my mother, my many wives and even my baby. How was it working with Amrita Singh, your on-screen mother and nemesis? She is like a firecracker on the sets. Though many of our scenes were highly melodramatic, we would improvise and try to make them as natural as possible. Drama on TV is often over the top, so it really takes a lot of effort to give it some semblance of reality. As regards the scene where I slap her, it really was no big deal, especially after having being slapped a 1,000 times playing Kavya. How has the transition been from Kavya to Kunal? Kavya and Kunal Saigal are as different as chalk and cheese. Kunal is extrovert, a compete Casanova who believes in working 9 to 5 and then partying 5 to 9. And unlike Kavya, who worshipped his mother, Kunal shares a kind of aloof rela- tionship with his mother. How much of Eijaz is in either character? No matter what actors say, you have to put a bit of the real you into your characters. I have so far portrayed seven different characters on television, each of which has a distinct Eijaz touch. Playing Kavya was a bigger challenge, as I never had a family of my own, so this whole joint family thing was make-be- lieve for me. Kunal, however, is closer to reality as I am a Casanova in real life and am open to pre-marital sex like my character. What is in store for your fans in your new avatar? My fans have often complained about me always appearing 'suited-booted' as Kavya. For those keen on seeing me in fewer clothes, as Kunal I am going to reveal a lot... and you can see more of me now.