"KAVITA (KAUSHIK) IS ONE OF THE MOST LOVING, UNDERSTANDING AND ENTERPRISING WOMEN I'VE MET"
"SHOWTIME IS PERHAPS THE ONLY MAGAZINE, WHICH COVERS ME," SAYS KARAN GROVER, IN A ATTEMPT TO BE MODEST. THOUGH I'M NOT SURE I AGREE WITH THE EXTREMITY OF THAT STATEMENT, I HAVE TO CONCUR THAT ALTHOUGH HE'S BEEN A PART OF THE TELEVISION SCENE FOR AROUND FIVE YEARS, KARAN DOES NOT ENJOY THE SAME KIND OF MEDIA ATTENTION THAT A LOT OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES DO. THIS, IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT HE WAS THE LEAD IN ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY WATCHED NON-BALAJI SOAPS, SAARRTHI.
Not that Karan minds too much. He's here to do his job, and he's very happy about that. Media coverage et all is just about secondary. We caught up with the talented, young actor to find out about his beginnings, his Saarrthi days, and his experience of working in Star Plus's prime-time show, Meri Awaaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni. And surprise surprise! Karan even spilled the beans on his relationship with fellow actress, Kavita Kaushik, whom we can rightly call the love of his life!
A pukka Mumbai lad, Karan is a chemical engineer, who went on to do his event management. He then worked with Omung Kumar's event management company for about a year. "I did all possible events during that period, including awards ceremonies and beauty pageants. It's funny how I've even worked on a television awards ceremony. I worked backstage, putting up the stage and the tables. For me, at that time, an awards ceremony was a major client. And today, I'm a part of Star," he says nostalgically.
What followed was the Gladrags Manhunt, where he was adjudged one of the top ten finalists. Soon after, he participated in the Grasim Mr India pageant, where again, he reached the top ten. "I got a call from Zee Music to be a VJ. I took that up and hosted shows for about two years. But somewhere or the other, I knew I wanted to be an actor. So I always kept meeting people, went for auditions, distributed my pictures to production houses, the works. I was always attracted to the performing arts. That's why during four years of engineering, I did all sorts of events, fashion and stage shows, and participated in personality contests. As far as my marks were concerned, I always had the least," he adds cheekily.
The struggle to establish a career in television continued with episodics and along the way, Karan found a very good friend in the form of Neha Devi Singh, who went on to play his heroine, Bhumika, in Saarrthi. "She called me one day to a coffee shop and asked me what I was doing the next day. I said nothing. That's when she asked me to go meet the makers of Saarrthi, who were casting for the show. I went for the audition with long hair and a beard, with the aim of being cast as the villain. I wanted to be the negative lead. They asked me to go home, shave, cut my hair and come back the next day. I went back later, and was cast as Arjun."
Saarrthi has turned out to be one of Star Plus's most successful shows, and Karan is indeed, very proud to have been a part of it. "I've done about 520 episodes, where I've been alive and kicking in every episode. There's not a single episode, which doesn't have me. I've so learnt so much from that show; it was a great unit to work with. My heart cried when I told them that I wouldn't be able to continue. But professionally and personally, I felt it was time to move on."
Prior to Karan leaving the show, his leading lady Neha had also decided that she was done with Saarrthi. Similarly, Karan is not continuing with the show anymore and his character has been accordingly killed. Is there a chance of a comeback there? "Neha left in January, mainly because she was absolutely fatigued. She had been continuously working for four years, every day, 30 days a month. It was talking a toll on her health. So she spoke to the producers, who were very understanding and let her go.
Later in the story, if she needs to be brought back, that possibility is always open. As for me, I don't think the producer will have a problem if I tell him that I want to come back. But as an actor, I don't think I would want to go back. After playing Arjun in more than 500 episodes, I don't think there is anything more left for me to contribute. Now I feel the need to grow, to do something else and work with new people. Exactly why I took up Raj in Meri Awaaz…. He's the complete opposite of Arjun."
There's a palpable excitement in Karan's voice as he talks about his new show, which has him completely engrossed. "Meri Awaaz… has been a mind-blowing experience. With all the stress we work with, telecast hassles, dates issues and overwork, it's still a great unit to work with. The show is doing decently well. It has replaced Kaun Banega Crorepati, so I can't say it's on the same level. But it's not bad either. It has a different flavour to it; it's not your usual saas-bahu show. We do not have a spread-out family with property issues, illegitimate sons or daughters. It's just a simple love story of Raj and Sudha (played by Ashima Bhalla). How they fulfil their dreams in life and at what cost – that's the story."
Meri Awaaz…is notably the only non-Balaji show in the evening time-slot on Star Plus. Karan sure is in illustrious company, and he's not worried about any sort of competition. "We might be the only non-Balaji show but that doesn't affect me. I would feel the competition from some 9 pm Balaji show on another channel. Why should my competitor be some other time slot? Of course, the other 9 pm shows are doing well, so there is competition. But I feel it's good to have strong competition; you get pepped up to do better."
And what about working with Balaji? "Well, I've never received any offers from them," he states honestly. "I've never even been approached by them. What they make is what I've been doing since about two-and-a-half years in Saarrthi. But I have also seen Balaji try and make something different with Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi for MTV. So it's not that they don't experiment. They have good concepts. But they purely cater to the market. They make what sells and that's what is good about them. Everybody is part of the commercial game, and as an actor, I have to see the role offered to me. I don't have to see how the production house deals. If my character is etched well, I don't see why I shouldn't be working with them ahead."
Karan is among the few actors who don't see the incredulity in going in for generation leaps, which are pretty much the flavour of the season. "I'm okay with them. I just have one request. They should seem genuine. We shouldn't be taking leaps with one streak of white hair in our heads. If I'm asked to play a 40-year-old man on Meri Awaaz… I would take it up, and I would play it like one too. You have to look and behave old, cough, maybe walk with a stick. That does not reduce your acting prowess in any which way. If they give me something like that to do tomorrow, I'll do it this way," he says convincingly.
So what kind of work is he looking forward to doing? "I would love to host a game show, maybe something like Saanp Seedi. Or like Khulja Sim Sim, which caters to the audience directly. I keep looking for some action stuff on television. But we really don't have much choice now, do we?" he questions.
Action brings to mind Karan's girlfriend Kavita Kaushik, who has a bit of an action oriented role in her comedy show FIR, where she plays a police officer. "I've been seeing Kavita since about one-and-a-half year precisely," he says, unpredictably ready to volunteer information on their relationship. "We started seeing each other in December 2005 and our relationship is going great. Kavita is one of the most loving, understanding and enterprising women I've met. She knows the art so well. To have a girlfriend who's such a good actor is like a blessing. When I go back home and see my performance, it helps that she always has suggestions for me to improve. I know that I'm getting this advice from a source that is experienced and knowledgeable. It's a boon to have such a girlfriend."
Karan and Kavita's first meeting is quite the romantic tale. They met at a Christmas party, which Karan hadn't even planned to attend. Fate, of course, had other plans. "It was at a suburban lounge. We were introduced by a friend. My cousin had actually called me for the party, and I'd told him I wouldn't be able to come since I was shooting. He told me to drop in for at least five minutes. Aur paanch minute mein meri zindagi badal gayi," he says, uncharacteristically filmi.
Karan vouches for Kavita's die-hard romantic nature. And it might seem a little strange, but in this relationship, it's the woman who plans all the romantic dinners and other surprises. "22nd June was my birthday. And every day from the 1st of the month, I got lovely gifts. Every day, Kavita would send me a gift from a different source. One day it was my driver giving me the gift, the next day one of my co-stars or my make-up guy. She couldn't give them to me directly because of my erratic shooting timings. I really can't expect her to be up all the time. But she's so sweet to think up and plan all this."
The one big problem, which plagues television actors, perhaps even the married ones, is the absolute lack of time to spend with one another. Karan and Kavita somehow work out some quality time from their erratic schedules. "We can't meet everyday, maybe alternate days, or once in three days. That's the repercussions of having a boyfriend, who works 30 days a month. Kavita is not the kind of person, who'll work continuously. She works about 15-16 days a month. That's the way it should be actually, but I'm a workaholic. I enjoy working even 40 days a month by putting in double shifts."
The most important question I have for Karan is why they've always kept their relationship under wraps. It's surprising considering he's so open when talking about it to Showtime. "Actually, both Kavita and I are like that. We're a little discreet by nature. We're not party people; we believe in doing our work and going back home. If we do party, it's with a close-knit group of friends. Not where the media is going to be. That's why our together pictures don't get printed so much. We'd rather catch a good film or a play, do something creative.
But never was there a conscious decision to keep it quiet. We're just like this. I don't have a problem saying Kavita is my girlfriend or that I've been seeing her since one-and-a-half year. Or even that I'm totally committed to her. We just don't like going out there and making a proclamation about it. We're seeing each other, but that's our business."
And what about marriage? Would that be in the offing? "Eventually definitely. As of now, it's a rare possibility, at least for another four-five years," states Karan. Four-five years is quite a long time, isn't it? "Well, both of us want to focus on work. Kavita is someone who loves to do quality work and she's ready to wait for it. And I have a lot of dreams; I have to make things happen. We'd rather let time decide when we should tie the knot. But yes, it's a committed relationship."
Karan also very sportingly admits that he's always linked with his co-stars, the most recent being Ashima Bhalla. "Being linked with my co-stars is a constant. I've been linked with both Neha and Adita Wahi during Saarrthi. As far as the latest one with Ashima is concerned, all three of us, Ashima, Kavita and I had a good laugh. We were wondering how people come up with such tales, especially the one where Kavita is insecure about Ashima and my 'growing' friendship and keeps a tab on us by visiting our sets regularly. It's funny because Kavita has come to my set only once. That too because she had my car, so she dropped it off with the driver and she gave me food and left. That's the only time she visited the Meri Awaaz…set. As for me, I've hardly ever been to the FIR set. We're really not the kind to go and sit on each other's sets, waiting for each other. So I really don't know where that link-up came from. But Ashima's really sweet.
We get along really well. She was quite worried initially but we told her to chill. It's all part of the job. I guess it's because I'm friendly to women and get along with them that I'm always linked up. Then again, it's the media's job to come up with stuff like this and I don't see somebody else's job affecting my relationship. It's not that weak. Kavita and I are actors, and when we stepped out into the big, bad world of showbiz, we knew people would say and do a lot of stuff. We just have to do our work. It's as simple as that."
With his clear-cut uncomplicated attitude, Karan Grover has his priorities in perfect order. He's one of those who like to keep it simple!
Cricket
Anupamaa
