In Saarthi, Dharmesh Vyas is playing a negative character for the first time in his 12-year-long career. "Initially, I was cast as Yudhisthir but the writer and director said that since I have always done positive roles, it would be interesting if I did a negative role, that of Shakuni," reveals Vyas. His convincing performance has already made Kushal Das a very popular character amongst the noon viewers. "When I enter the stage to perform a play, the audience starts mouthing my dialogue, kanhaiya bachaye sabko..." beams the actor. He, however believes that Shakuni is not really a negative character. "It's just that he was so possessive about his brother and nephews that he wanted to protect them at any cost," he says. In the soap, he is the only one who's dressed traditionally in dhoti kurta. "My attire was decided by the channel," he informs. To make his character more authentic, the actor has adapted Rajasthani lingo in his dialogue. Interestingly, his character is such that he doesn't speak a word in the presence of the family members. He just absorbs the goings-on and comes up with a plan in isolation.