SANAYA IS A VERY GOOD FRIEND
WHY IS MOHIT SEHGAL HIDING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH SANAYA IRANI?
They say negative publicity is better than no publicity at all. Mohit Sehgal begs to differ. Better known as Samrat of the hugely popular show Miley Jab Hum Tum, he has had more than his share of negative publicity. There have been rumours galore about this good-looking actor – from him dating his co-star Sanaya Irani to his supposed attitude problem. Just when one rumour dies out, another rears its ugly head. This Delhi boy has always taken it in his stride. But everyone has a limit and Mohit is no exception. Tired and exasperated with a new rumour surfacing everyday, Mohit has decided to quell them once and for all. Showtime catches the actor in this fiery mood.
Ask him why he has never before bothered to react to the umpteen rumours surrounding him and he states, "As an actor, I know that I need to maintain and protect my public image. But if a new rumour comes up everyday, after a point in time, you get tired of defending yourself. How much can I clarify, how much can I refute?" Not one to mince words, he shoots, "Seriously, if the media purposely corners me and picks me up for every small act without hearing my explanation, then what can I do? Should I continue focussing on my work and my acting or should I just spend my entire day explaining myself and refuting all the rumours?"
Point taken. But there is no smoke without fire, right? "I'll tell you how they start. You know, a few days back, a reporter came on our set to interview Sanaya and me. We were shooting then. So she had to wait for quite some time. But by the time we got done with our shot, a lot of other reporters had arrived on the sets too," he recollects. "So when we sat down to give the interviews, this reporter said that since she came first to the set, she should be the first one to interview us. We didn't have the time to give individual interviews so we gave a common interview to all and resumed our shooting. Naturally, she took it badly and told me she'll write about this misbehaviour of mine. Now tell me, how did I misbehave there? Then they say that I have an attitude problem."
Well, maybe he has been given a raw deal. Maybe people have judged him without hearing his side of the story. But Mohit isn't complaining. Because while he has quite a few detractors, he has many staunch supporters too. The show's producer Sudhir Sharma being one of them. "Honestly, if it weren't for Sudhir, I wouldn't have been on this show. I wouldn't have been the Samrat that everyone knows me as. He's given me the show, he's given me my popularity. I'm very grateful to him for that," Mohit confesses.
So is there any truth to the reports that Sudhir gave him preferential treatment when he joined the show? "See, when I came to Mumbai, I didn't know anything about the industry. So when I got selected for this show, Sudhir groomed me a lot. He used to spend four-five hours with me on a daily basis. We used to sit in his office and rehearse together. He went beyond being a producer. Even though I was a newcomer, he trusted me and believed in me," he fondly states.
And what about his co-star Arjun Bijlani? Isn't there any rivalry between the two considering they both are the male leads of the show? Mohit laughs as I say this, "No, there's nothing of the sort. We never try to outdo each other. Arjun, Sanaya and I are very good friends, we are always hanging out together. In fact, Arjun even calls me his younger brother. So where does the question of competition arise? You don't expect two brothers to compete against each other, do you?"
While he genuinely seems to share a great rapport with Arjun Bijlani, the same may not be true of his equation with his other co-star Rati Pandey. In fact, when Rati's character was killed at the end of season one, she had even stated that they bumped off her character because the audience would be affected by it. Whereas, the death of any other character, especially Mohit's character, would not make a difference to the audience. Ask him to comment on this and he adopts a practical stand, "I think it's not for Rati or me to decide whose death is going to affect the audience. It is for the audience to decide whether they'd be more affected by my exit or Rati's exit from the show."
Giving it a little thought, he continues, "Personally, I think if any one of the four leads leaves the show, the audience is going to be affected. But if she thinks like that, then okay. I don't have anything to say to her on that. And in spite of all this, I'm happy for her that she's back on the show now."
Of course, when we are talking about the cast of the show, we can't miss out on his co-star Sanaya Irani. The two are rumoured to be seeing each other. Even though neither has officially spoken about their relationship in the open, they are often seen catching up on movies and going out for dinners together. Quite naturally, they are one of the most talked about couples of the telly world. Question him on his equation with her and he doesn't reveal much. "I have always maintained that Sanaya is a very good friend of mine. Beyond that, I don't need to say anything because I like to keep my personal life to myself. I don't think I am answerable to anybody as far as my personal life is concerned," he smiles.
Clearly not the sort to discuss his personal life, he is more than happy to talk about his professional life. His character Samrat has been loved by millions across the nation. He is a rage among teenage girls and college-goers – the show's target audience. So what's next on the cards? Do we see him in a saas-bahu saga? "I know that our audience is the young crowd and not the general population. But I'm happy with that. Right now, I don't think I want to do the typical mainstream serials. Obviously, later I will do shows that appeal to a wider audience. But I'm sure I'll never do a saas-bahu show. It's just not my cup of tea," he says matter-of-factly.
And films? Don't the fame and glamour of the film industry lure him? "I would love to get into films. I don't want to restrict myself to a single genre. Romance, comedy, even action thrillers – I want to do all of it," the actor says, beaming.
We aren't surprised. After making his mark in the TV industry, it is only natural that Mohit would want to try his luck in the big bad world of films. And if his success in the telly world is anything to go by, we can already see a rising Bollywood star in him.
Pushpa Impossible
CID
