No Bollywood dreams-Anoop aka Vikram

His entry in Virrudh as ACP Vikram Agarkar was supposed to last not more than eight to 10 episodes. But Anoop Soni who plays the character has already done over 100 episodes of the show. And it sure looks like the show will get another extension. ACP Agarkar's character of an honest and upright police officer who investigate sa murderous attack on Dheerendra Raisinghania's life has been well-received. But the upright cop has suddenly turned negative and is seeking revenge against Vedika. Not only is he blackmailing and plotting against Vedika but is also forcing Vasudha to marry him. The question being asked is: Why is Agarkar on a revenge trip?

"Initially, my role was supposed to be a special entry. But Smriti conceived an entire plot for the character. She had told me that the role will be extended and something substantial will be worked out," says Anoop who is happy that he accepted the offer because not only has the character worked well for him but also for the show. In fact, Anoop says Smriti had even told him that if he didn't feel happy with the character's graph he was free to leave the show at any point of time. "When the producer gave me so much liberty why would I say no to the offer?" he asks.

Anoop further says that Virrudh is a high-profile show that has been discussed avidly. "It's become a status symbol and adds weight to your bio-data," he says, adding further, "TRPs or popularity of a show has nothing to do with quality. If a show is successful it doesn't mean it is good."

But lately Virrudh's ratings have improved quite a bit. "The changes in the story after Agarkar turned negative have brought in more viewers," says Anoop. However, he says Agarkar is not a bad guy. "He has been hurt by Vedika. She fell in love with him but she didn't like his middle class status and therefore got him promoted to a higher rank by paying a bribe which Agarkar didn't like. He feels Vedika doesn't love him but his higher status as a police officer," he explains.

Try telling him that lately Virrudh has become a thriller and he argues that it's a wholesome show. "It has family, relationships, drama, conflict, suspense and little bit of thrill as well. Also, it is one show where the male actors have something substantial to do and I am quite satisfied with what I am doing in Virrudh," he adds.

He feels that television acting is no more a specialised job. "I don't have any problem with daily soaps. But unfortunately they don't need actors. Instead they need people who can say dialogues because the camera does a lot of acting," says Anoop who started his career about 12 years ago with Indian television's first daily soap Shanti and later did several weekly shows and one-off episodes of Rishtey and Saturday Suspense. Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki was his first daily for a satellite channel where he came as a replacement for Mohnish Behl. But after Kiran Karmarkar's recent comeback in the show, Anoop who played Suyesh Mehra has been shown the exit door.

"With Om around no man can exist in Parvati's life because Om and Parvati are like Ram and Sita. I don't know what the current story is and also don't have any clue whether I will be back in the show. But then in dailies all possibilities exist. When they run out of the story, old characters are resurrected," he explains.

Anoop is smart enough to realise that TV will remain a long term source of income while films are only a passtime.

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