Posted:
mriti Iraani's Waaris is suddenly in the news after she threw actor Yuvraaj, who was the channel's choice, out of the show.
Well, never mind all that. There's another buzz doing the rounds. That lead actor Iqbal Khan hasn't been too happy with the way his role has shaped up and has been contemplating quitting the show. Now is there any truth to that? BT checked out with Iqbal himself and the straightforward actor minced no words as he told us the story as it is...
Is there any truth to the buzz that you're contemplating quitting Waaris?
I was told it's a different show and I have always liked doing different stuff. But I wasn't happy in the first one-and-half-months with the way the show was going. However frankly for the past three weeks we have been doing good work. There have been a lot of positive changes.
There's a change in the story, there's a change in the direction with Santram Varma stepping in. The lighting has changed. Things are getting better. Waaris as I said was always supposed to be a different kind of a show. When I say different I don't mean arty-farty or off-beat. It's a normal show but the execution is different visually and content-wise. For instance, if it's karva chauth, from 7 pm to 10.30 pm you'll see it on every show. I have nothing against it, but we need to do it the Waaris way. Basically present it interestingly to the audience.
So you've never spoken of quitting the show?
In my contract there is a clause that if my content is not what I have been told then I will opt out. I had the same clause for Choona Hai Aasman too. I'm here to do some good work. As long as they stick to the content, I stick to them, whichever the production house, whichever the channel.
Apparently you weren't happy about the prominence actor Yuvraaj was getting so far?
My name is Iqbal Khan and honestly these things never bother me. I have never had an issue about anybody else.
Your show comes on TV at 11 pm which is quite a late slot. Doesn't that affect the viewership ?
They said the same thing when Kaisa Yeh Pyaar Hai was at 8. But I think prime time today starts by 7 pm and goes on till late night. Yes, TRPs are bound to be a little different for a 9 pm show and an 11 pm show. But that's fine. Having a TRP of three for a 9 pm show is equivalent to a 1.5 TRP for an 11 pm show.
What do you think about the TRP game?
I really don't understand this. The whole country watches TV, but it's finally judged by 6000 TV sets. I don't agree with that parameter. It's understandable if atleast 10,000 households are taken into consideration in every city.
Iqbal Khan (TOI photo) |
Well, never mind all that. There's another buzz doing the rounds. That lead actor Iqbal Khan hasn't been too happy with the way his role has shaped up and has been contemplating quitting the show. Now is there any truth to that? BT checked out with Iqbal himself and the straightforward actor minced no words as he told us the story as it is...
Is there any truth to the buzz that you're contemplating quitting Waaris?
I was told it's a different show and I have always liked doing different stuff. But I wasn't happy in the first one-and-half-months with the way the show was going. However frankly for the past three weeks we have been doing good work. There have been a lot of positive changes.
There's a change in the story, there's a change in the direction with Santram Varma stepping in. The lighting has changed. Things are getting better. Waaris as I said was always supposed to be a different kind of a show. When I say different I don't mean arty-farty or off-beat. It's a normal show but the execution is different visually and content-wise. For instance, if it's karva chauth, from 7 pm to 10.30 pm you'll see it on every show. I have nothing against it, but we need to do it the Waaris way. Basically present it interestingly to the audience.
So you've never spoken of quitting the show?
In my contract there is a clause that if my content is not what I have been told then I will opt out. I had the same clause for Choona Hai Aasman too. I'm here to do some good work. As long as they stick to the content, I stick to them, whichever the production house, whichever the channel.
Apparently you weren't happy about the prominence actor Yuvraaj was getting so far?
My name is Iqbal Khan and honestly these things never bother me. I have never had an issue about anybody else.
Your show comes on TV at 11 pm which is quite a late slot. Doesn't that affect the viewership ?
They said the same thing when Kaisa Yeh Pyaar Hai was at 8. But I think prime time today starts by 7 pm and goes on till late night. Yes, TRPs are bound to be a little different for a 9 pm show and an 11 pm show. But that's fine. Having a TRP of three for a 9 pm show is equivalent to a 1.5 TRP for an 11 pm show.
What do you think about the TRP game?
I really don't understand this. The whole country watches TV, but it's finally judged by 6000 TV sets. I don't agree with that parameter. It's understandable if atleast 10,000 households are taken into consideration in every city.
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