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After a brief sabbatical from prime time television, dimpled hottie Vipul Gupta who had won hearts in the youthful romance 'India Calling', half a decade ago had made a comeback as Anand Shergill in 'Ek Nanad Ki Khushiyon Ki Chaabi...Meri Bhabhi'. Not that Vipul's been completely away from the arclights. In the intervening years, he's done his share of TVC and bit roles in Hindi films.
How does it feel to be back in a daily soap? "It is difficult to work when your schedules are tight and since the show's just started, there's no high drama either, the plot's building up, so you have to be patient. Add to that the rains have also made things more difficult for us. Post shooting, it takes me two and half hours to travel just six kilometers! It's a small miracle if you can even reach your work place on time," he shares.
As our conversations veers towards his work, we ask him the obvious, why has he been missing from TV? "Besides India Calling, I did Four,K Street Pali Hill, followed by ad campaigns and character roles in films like Fox, Yeh Saali Zindagi, Anjaan, Saturday Night. After my filmi career didn't shape up the way I'd wanted, I did TV shows like Choti Si Zindagi and Ek Tha Rusty," he avers.
Does Vipul feel he took a major risk by doing small roles in films when he was poised for superstardom on TV? "Financially it was a gamble, but on hindsight every actor wants to make it big in Bollywood, so I had to give it a shot as well. After I worked with the biggies of the ad industry, I thought I could try my luck in films. Being an MBA, I took a calculative risk. I am not saying TV is not a good enough medium, given that it has such a huge reach. TV gave me instant fame and money and I'm grateful for all that. But today, I am also glad I gave Bollywood a shot, at least I have no regrets," smiles Vipul.
Now that he is back in a lead role, has he noticed changes in the TV industry? "The television industry has evolved a lot. Soapmakers are in an experimental mode and are working on international concepts. Even the audiences are receptive towards new formats, so that's encouraging," he says firmly.
While Vipul couldn't make it big in films, today TV stars like Vidya Balan, Sushant Singh Rajput,Rajeev Khandelwal and Pulkit Samrat have made a successful transition to the silver screen. Have filmmakers' perception changed towards TV actors? "Some years back TV actors were looked down upon — filmmakers would often say that 'if audiences watch you for free, why would they spend '200 on you?' Once if a Hindi film had a top star in the creditlines that would be a guarantee for its BO success, today, the script is the king. Filmmakers have realised that working with TV actors is a great option — they know their job well and their fame also gets the audiences to the theatres," says Vipul. "As actors, our careers are unstable. I am trying to give television my best shot again — I always get a high when I am in front of the camera and I am enjoying that. My personal experience says that you can't make plans for yourself here and should go with the flow," he avers.
And now for some heartbreaking news for all those nubile ladies who had a crush on him — the dapper Delhi dude is no longer single. He tied the marital knot with girlfriend Megha, an IT professional, last year. Considering Megha doesn't belong to showbiz, does it become difficult for her to get used to having an actor husband ? "I'm sure it's not easy being married to an actor, but I've taken her on the sets and have shown her how we work. She doesn't like it when I do romantic scenes, but has figured out that it's make-belief. She's coming around slowly and has a better understanding of my work," he confesses.
How does it feel to be back in a daily soap? "It is difficult to work when your schedules are tight and since the show's just started, there's no high drama either, the plot's building up, so you have to be patient. Add to that the rains have also made things more difficult for us. Post shooting, it takes me two and half hours to travel just six kilometers! It's a small miracle if you can even reach your work place on time," he shares.
As our conversations veers towards his work, we ask him the obvious, why has he been missing from TV? "Besides India Calling, I did Four,K Street Pali Hill, followed by ad campaigns and character roles in films like Fox, Yeh Saali Zindagi, Anjaan, Saturday Night. After my filmi career didn't shape up the way I'd wanted, I did TV shows like Choti Si Zindagi and Ek Tha Rusty," he avers.
Does Vipul feel he took a major risk by doing small roles in films when he was poised for superstardom on TV? "Financially it was a gamble, but on hindsight every actor wants to make it big in Bollywood, so I had to give it a shot as well. After I worked with the biggies of the ad industry, I thought I could try my luck in films. Being an MBA, I took a calculative risk. I am not saying TV is not a good enough medium, given that it has such a huge reach. TV gave me instant fame and money and I'm grateful for all that. But today, I am also glad I gave Bollywood a shot, at least I have no regrets," smiles Vipul.
Now that he is back in a lead role, has he noticed changes in the TV industry? "The television industry has evolved a lot. Soapmakers are in an experimental mode and are working on international concepts. Even the audiences are receptive towards new formats, so that's encouraging," he says firmly.
While Vipul couldn't make it big in films, today TV stars like Vidya Balan, Sushant Singh Rajput,Rajeev Khandelwal and Pulkit Samrat have made a successful transition to the silver screen. Have filmmakers' perception changed towards TV actors? "Some years back TV actors were looked down upon — filmmakers would often say that 'if audiences watch you for free, why would they spend '200 on you?' Once if a Hindi film had a top star in the creditlines that would be a guarantee for its BO success, today, the script is the king. Filmmakers have realised that working with TV actors is a great option — they know their job well and their fame also gets the audiences to the theatres," says Vipul. "As actors, our careers are unstable. I am trying to give television my best shot again — I always get a high when I am in front of the camera and I am enjoying that. My personal experience says that you can't make plans for yourself here and should go with the flow," he avers.
And now for some heartbreaking news for all those nubile ladies who had a crush on him — the dapper Delhi dude is no longer single. He tied the marital knot with girlfriend Megha, an IT professional, last year. Considering Megha doesn't belong to showbiz, does it become difficult for her to get used to having an actor husband ? "I'm sure it's not easy being married to an actor, but I've taken her on the sets and have shown her how we work. She doesn't like it when I do romantic scenes, but has figured out that it's make-belief. She's coming around slowly and has a better understanding of my work," he confesses.
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