Rohit Roy talks about his journey

Shobhaa De considers me her lucky mascot

Rohit Roy talks about his journey from Sarkar To Viraasat

Subhash K Jha

Even if Rohit Roy regrets the end of Sarkar he is excited about his next daily serial Viraasat. After playing a character inspired by Sanjay Gandhi in Sarkar, Rohit's character in Ravi Chopra's Viraasat is a blend of Aamir Khan in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Akshaye Khanna in Taal.

"It's a character that believes in love. The character is volatile, but not aggressive," says Rohit. "I co-star with Sangeeta Ghosh.  But I wish someone would cast me with my wife Manasi…"

Evidently, Rohit likes to talk about his wife. "I'm married to the most amazing woman," he says. "I know there's a lot of temptation in the television industry, but trust me, I'm never tempted to bite into the forbidden apple. The risk is just not worth taking, not when I've the most perfect family life. Besides where is the time to think of any diversion? I work like a dog, go to the gym and then head home to be with my wife and daughter."

Volatile by nature, Rohit says marriage has mellowed him. "My two most successful roles on television, Swabhimaan and Sarkar had me playing angry characters," he says. "That image is going to change with Viraasat.  Shobhaa De, who wrote Swabhimaan and Sarkar considers me her lucky mascot, and I consider her mine. Funnily she had rejected me for Swabhimaan and taken me only on Mahesh Bhatt's insistence. Thank God for that. Otherwise I wonder where I'd have been!"

Rohit is content working with one daily at a time. "I don't know how my colleagues find the time to do two dailies at a time," he says. "I'm glad to get Sarkar out of the way before Viraasat comes on. I don't understand how my brother Ronit does so much work. It's crazy. But I don't try to stop him. He went through a seven-year period of exile when he had no work. I understand how much the work-load means to him."

Ronit and Rohit are the only successful sibling pair working together on television. "I'm not aware of any other pair of successful siblings on television," he says. "I remember an astrologer had said both of us would not be equally successful in the same profession. Well, I don't believe in astrology. I believe in destiny. And I believe one can be the architect of one's own destiny."


• I'm glad to get Sarkar out of the way before Viraasat comes on. I don't understand how my brother Ronit does so much work. It's crazy. But I don't try to stop him

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