Kyunki's Karan Check out my 4-pack!
Hiten Tejwani says he's a natural at building his body and at delivering his lines.
Hiten Tejwani says he doesn't need to build his body because he's already buffed."Notice my four abs - soon I'll develop two more," he joked, when asked whether he was putting in the hours at the gym.
"I think I have a good body," lean Hiten said, "and I haven't taken up any sort of physical training."
Hiten's also playing Karna in the Mahabharat, the tragic hero who is denied by Kunti and killed by Arjun. He says he's a natural at the acting game and doesn't need to be trained to deliver his dialogue in a particular way.
We reported yesterday that the cast of Mahabharat was being coached for three weeks to get them to cut out the exaggerated mannerisms that were part of serial drama-baazi.
"I do believe in spontaneous acting," Hiten said, scoffing at the training, "I go on the sets, get ready, read my scripts and then give my take. I do not like giving retakes and I make sure that my shot is okayed in one take."
So where did his time get consumed?
"It takes at least an hour to wear make-up and costumes!" said Hiten, "that's the only time-consuming thing."
He underwent some preparation for the role but only culturally. "I have seen the earlier Mahabharat (on Doordarshan) and of course I've read the epic," he said.
Hiten said one of the advantages that came naturally to him on screen was the fact that he spoke in Hindi, when it wasn't fashionable to do so. "People used to tell me to talk to everyone in English, that it was good for actors to be seen talking in English," he said, "but i spoke in Hindi. Though I am Sindhi, we speak Hindi at home normally and now this habit is helping me out while I play Karna!"
Hiten thinks it's a prize role. "Everyone wanted to play the character of Karan, and when Ekta offered it to me I said yes because I wanted to do mythology."
So what did he think of the lack of enthusiasm in the serial?
"No character gets popular in one or two days," he said, "let some more episodes come on air. People will like it."
And what's the best part of doing a mythological role?
"Gauri is excited to see me in that costume," Hiten said.