Karan Mehra;s Interview

We hear that you're planning to settle down soon? I've been dating my child- hood sweetheart for a while now. We're very happy She's . a designer based in Delhi. Yes, we are thinking about marriage though not right now.. the funny thing is that I feel married anyway . Are you happy with the way Vir- rudh is shaping up? Yes, it claimed to be a differ- ent show and has stayed that way. As for my character Vedant, he's shaped up exact- ly the way I was told he would. He used to be a frivolous college kid but now he's a mature guy who understands his responsibilities. I'm glad Virrudh chose to take it slow- ly rather than jumping on to the Generation Next routine. But the ratings are a cause for concern.. Honestly, I don't know how this works. The best shows somehow don't get the TRPs. Vedant's my most popular character. So for me person- ally the TRPs are pretty high. , What's in store for Vedant now? He plans to start a news chan- nel. But things don't go right and relationships go kaput.. should be interesting. Did you expect Vedant to become a household name? No and the credit for that goes entirely to the director and script-writer. Everything is served on a platter for us actors. It's not an earth-shat- tering performance, just that the character is so well- etched. How's Smriti Iraani as a produc- er and co-star? Actually it's tough to figure out whether she makes a bet- ter producer or actor. We get our cheques in time and our green rooms are nev- er an issue. She looks after me like a brother. You must be flooded with offers after Virrudh.. Yeah, I've been getting sever- al of offers. But I'd like to stick to one show at a time. I was offered a Cinevistaas show with SAB TV but had to opt out because of date prob- lems. I'm currently doing a play, Baghdad ka Ghulam. You sound really content.. no grouses? Hmm.. TV is basically a woman-oriented medium. Men have limited roles - those of a brother or villain. People just want to watch the ladies. You have a film in your kitty too.. Yes, Drona. It's a small but noticeable role.. I'm playing a bhaiya again. (Winks) You know, I'll soon bag the Best Brother Award.