Choona Hai Asmaan is ready for take-off. Is it a sequel to Saara Aakash? No, it's a completely new show, and has nothing to do with Saara Aakash. Hey, just because J P Dutta made Border first, that didn't make LOC its sequel, right? The backdrop may be the air force, but the sto- ry of Choona.. revolves around human emotions and relation- ships. It's a young show.. without any women in saris.. about everyday life. It's different from what's happening on television today. I guess that's evident from the promos. How different is the Abhimanyu of Choona.. from Angad of Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai? (Smiles) Well, Abhimanyu is not a Casanova like Angad. He's a man of few words and many rules that he follows religious- ly. He's a no-nonsense guy, but that does not mean he's boring. How different is Miditech from Balaji Telefilms? It's a decent production house, not into too many fictional shows. A lot of detailing has gone in this show and they've given me the best of everything. (After a longish pause) I have nothing against Balaji. No mat- ter what happens I'll never forget the fact that they gave me my big break. I wasn't too convinced about Shaurya (Kavyanjali) and I did- n't like Angad much even though he made me famous. But Shiv (Karam Apna Apna) was the best character I've played to date. I enjoyed him, and now I love Abhimanyu as much. But you seemed stressed while doing Karam Apna Apna? It was a good show, I really liked the story. When I quit, the TRPs were up to 11. But I was fed up of working 24x7. You can slog 20 hours a day, but not 24. I had no life! For two years all I did was walk from my vanity van to the set and back. You could have taken a short break.. It's not possible to take a break when you are working in a dai- ly soap. The only option was to quit. I desperately needed a break. There was my family and my wedding. I'd like to clarify that no one at Balaji forced me to overdo things. It was my decision. I used to hang around the sets and keeping shooting. After a point, this became a habit. Now, I'd like to keep nor- mal hours. Didn't Ekta Kapoor offer you any- thing post Karam Apna Apna? No. After I quit Balaji, Ekta has not offered me anything. Once you quit Balaji, maybe there's no going back. But you were expecting a call? I wanted a change of pace.. to have dinner at home. And as I explained earlier, the only way out for me was out. I met Shob- haji and Ekta and explained my reasons for wanting to quit. There were no arguments. I got my way. And after that I didn't call Ekta, neither did she call me. No regrets? No regrets, no complaints. These few months when I got to be by myself, were a period of introspection and growth. It helped me evolve as a person. Earlier, my view was limited to just my role, now I look at the whole package. Everyone has to look good on the show, not only me. Given your popularity on TV you must have got plenty of film offers? Yeah, but nothing really excit- ing. Even on TV, the shows I was offered were not very dif- ferent from what was going on. Even Kaisa Yeh Pyaar Hai was primarily a love story. The mon- ey was tempting, but I had to think of the long-term prospects. These days, most actors are drag- ging their spouses into the spot- light, irrespective of whether they can act or dance. (Laughs) Not me. Sneha's Iqbal Khan's wife. Period. Yes, we've been offered shows.. reality shows..but they are a big no-no. I can't dance. And I don't want my fans to know that.
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Anupamaa
