'Fame is Mallika's destiny...'

By Subhash K Jha

He was a star on the home-viewing medium. But Sudanshu Pandde (yup, that's how he spells his name) decided to branch out into singing and acting in films. "Cinema still remains my primary interest.

In fact I took on my first serial Akayla in five years only because I see it as a weekly feature film. Directors Glen-Ankush are sparing no pains to give Akayla a finish unknown to television.

And the producer B.P. Singh pays well. Really it feels like a film," smiles Sudanshu from his 14th floor highrise where he lives wth his wife of nine years and a 5-year old son.

"Really it's been smooth-sailing for me," he asserts. "Specially since my spritual guru Gul Sahib entered my life I've known no discomfort. Sure, some plans didn't work out. People say Mallika Sherawat hogged all the limelight in The Myth where I had a larger role.

But I firmly believe Mallika is getting the fame that's written in her destiny. Why should I grudge her the attention she got during The Myth."

The best part of The Myth for Sudanshu was his friendship with the director Stanley Tong. "We're still in touch, for no other reason except because we hit it off. Otherwise I didn't get into The Myth hoping to become an international star. I'm content with what I 've."

Akayla is Sudanshu's first serial since Kanyaadan for Ekta Kapoor. " I did a guest appearance in Life Ho To Aisi. But that apart I was busy with my films, and with my career as a musician."

He was part of the group Band Of Boys. But quit. "Because I had family responsibilities. Playing in a musical band isn't economically fulfilling in this country. But I haven't quit singing. In fact I want to sing my own songs in my films. I'll soon be returning to singing in a big way."

Films on hand include Bhupendra Gupta's Unns, a boy-meets-girl love story Chooriyan and a comedy Manorajan set in the film world where Sudanshu plays a struggler who finally ends up as gangster in Mumbai.

However another recently-released film Jadoo Sa Chal Gaya was a bad experience. "The producers put the leading lady Meera Vasudevan's face on a bikini-clad girl and advertised this otherwise-clean love triangle as a cheesy film.

I was so outraged, more for Meera who comes from a conservative decent family. I don't want to be part of anything that I cannot watch with my parents."

"Such are the vagaries of life in this city," laughs the young actor who has now bagged a lead role in Sanjay Gupta's Alibaug. "I'm dying to see how Sanjay presents me. He 's such stylish filmmaker."

How does the actor fob off temptations? "It's quite easy to fall prey to temptation. It's simple. I focus on my work."