Fresh Take-Iqbal Khan-

I chose to make a comeback on TV with Tumhari Paakhi because this is an amazing story. My character, Anshuman Jindal, is an overly cautious boy who is very social and believes he is perfect. He feels that his name and his company's name should overpower everything else around him. This lands him into a spot of trouble. If you would have seen the first episode of the show, when a woman asks him about his first wife whom he was married to as a kid during a public press conference, he tries to save his image by deciding to go and find her (Paakhi). While he is looking for her, he has a dream where he is scaring her after he meets her, and letting her know that she will not be able to fit into his urban world. You have to watch the show to know the rest.

The reason I agreed to the show was because of the entire story, and the very fact that it has been adapted from the popular novel Navvidhan by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. However, the book is not a bible for the show. The reason why I came back after a gap of two years in a lead role is honestly because I have always maintained a consistency. I have never planned my life. Television is a medium which takes a lot of time from an actor's life as we are involved in the shooting for more than 25 days in a month continuously, leaving us much less time for ourselves. One needs a break and my daughter ensured that the break lasted long. To get back to television, one needs a little patience and energy.

But ever since my comeback to television I have witnessed few changes. Earlier the camera used to do the work, now the actor is the one who calls the shots. The zooms and switch pans have thankfully gone. Of course, the new time regulations have also helped. I remember when I used to shoot earlier, I stayed four days continuously on the sets. Now, we wrap up shooting within 12 hours. The stories have also changed and new ones are emerging.

But it is still not easy for newcomers to enter television today. I don't think it was easy anytime. You have to work with dedication and that is what makes you who you are. For the 12 hours that you are shooting, you have to surrender yourself completely. Nowadays, we have more channels but people still come and go and very few sustain their stint on TV. I think it comes from Allah. You have to be lucky enough.

I have been consistent in the kind of breaks I take, which last for a year or two. People always tell me the memory of the audience is short. But I always feel loved. I think Allah has been kind to me. I wish I could go and hug every fan. I have been active on Facebook and Twitter, now that I joined recently and felt that even while I was out of television, I have received so much love. People have been kind to me.