Is Tarun going the Bajaj way?

Pawan Shankar is Ekta Kapoor's new favourite

Mumbai, March 18 (IANS) Pawan Shankar, who wowed with his performance in Smriti Irani's serial 'Thodisi Zameen Thodasa Zameen', is Ekta Kapoor's new blue-eyed boy.

Pawan came in just six episodes of the STAR Plus serial, but his portrayal of rebellious, angry young man Sanjay Apte made a tremendous impact.

Though his character has now been bumped off as per the plot, the shy Pawan has caught Ekta's attention. She has cast him as the new man in Bani's life in Zee's 'Kkasam Se'.

'I play this suave US returned NRI called Tarun Sablok in 'Kkasam Se'. Ekta's brief about the character was that he's someone who makes all his moves after giving it a proper thought. She says my character is akin to Mr. Bajaj in 'Kasauti Zindagi Kay'.

'Ekta has been constantly offering me roles in her serials. She also offered me Sujal, the role that made Rajiv Khandelwal an overnight star. Unfortunately, at that time I was busy with my serial 'Siddhanth' on STAR One and I didn't want to divide my attention by doing another show,' Pawan told IANS.

'Siddhanth', in which Pawan played a conscience-stricken lawyer, immediately brought Pawan into prime-time focus.

''Siddhanth' is the only Indian TV show to be nominated for the prestigious Emmy awards. Though it didn't do well, I'm very proud of it,' said the actor who hails from Allahabad.

His small role of an angry young Sanjay in 'Thodisi Zameen...' has got Pawan optimum notice.

'I'm amazed by the impact the role has made. I can't pretend I wasn't aware of the character's importance to the plot. I was fully aware that I'd be there only for six episodes. But my role will resonate for a long time.'

Sadly, some of Pawan's best lines were edited out of his farewell episode.

'It was the director, who suggested I add those lines. So I've no idea why they were edited out. But, I've no complaints. I'm in search of roles on both the small and big screens, which would challenge the actor within me. I had a small but satisfying role in 'Thodisi Zameen...' I knew the character had depth and that's what I was looking for after 'Siddhanth'.'