article--Anoop Soni in VIrrudh

A noop Soni will soon make an entry in Sony's Virrudh. The daily serial, which is currently on a week-long break will see Soni play- ing Vikram Agarkar, a special inves- tigative officer. Dhirendra Rai Singhania (Vikram Gokhale) has been attacked by some- one from his family and Soni's charac- ter is brought in to solve the case. He says, "It's a special appearance that will last about three weeks. I took it up because my character sounded interesting and it was a short-term role." While Soni has acted opposite Sak- shi Tanwar, one of television's prime time bahus in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, this is the first time he'll be sharing screen with the other bahu, Smriti Z Iraani. "Few years ago, I was offered a role in Kavita, which had Smriti in the lead. I was also slated to play Anupam Kapadia in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Sometime back, I was offered Smriti's brother's role in Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan but none of them worked out. This time, everything fell into place," smiles the actor. Soni admits to have watched only a few episodes of Virrudh. Will his expe- rience as ACP Ajatshatru in the CID Special Bureau series help him solve the murder mystery in Virrudh? "I hope so. In fact, everyone on the sets teases me about it," he laughs. Soni was last seen in Jeete Hain Jiske Liye, in which he played the villain. But the actor says he couldn't relish the role "because it wrapped up soon. On paper, my character Viraj sounded brilliant but I didn't get enough screen time to flesh him out," he says, sound- ing a little disappointed. Does it hurt? "No, I've stopped thinking about these things. In the current TV scenario, the only thing an actor should do is give his best shot. The rest of the factors like the show's popularity, reach and TRPs, are beyond our control.. it's not our concern." He adds, "Having said that, I enjoyed being a part of Jeete Hain Jiske Liye only because it had a great team of actors. Most importantly, they were a secure bunch of actors." Soni will be seen in Kamal Sadanah's Karkash. "I'm playing the main lead for the first time. It also stars Suchitra Pillai and deals with male chauvinism. My track in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii will also take off again,"he signs off.