Article-Apurva Agnihotri

Apurva Agnihotri returns to television after a year with Saubhagya Laxmi. He was last seen in Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye. The actor, who is quite choosy when it comes to picking roles and is not very social, speaks about his new show, Bollywood dreams and more...

You have come back after a year. What made you say yes to Saubhagya Laxmi?
I have not been away from television. I preferred doing reality shows because they have finite episodes and also fetch you good money. You are not stuck slogging for 12 hours each day, 25 days a month for years and years. I also did Balaji shows too. Also I like to space out projects. Once one show is over, I like to take an off for three to four months. I go out riding, go on a holiday with Shilpa or we just stay at home and lie around watching TV or playing with our dog. The reason why I took this show up is because I have great respect for Vikas Gupta, the channel head for fiction programming. I trust his vision completely and I'm confident this is going to be a great role for me.

Tell us about your character in the show?
I play the character of a rich guy who is a man of few words. He is always immersed in his work and doesn't look left or right. He doesn't care for anything else but his work and family. He's kind of a recluse and quite like how I am in real life - likes to go home to his family after work. Basically, he is a boring rich guy.

You were part of a path breaking show like Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi how do you look at the content today on television?
Honestly, this is the reason there why I keep gaps between my shows. If you look at all the top shows they are typical soap operas. Our films have evolved but our shows are still quite backward. We are still making shows like we used to15-20-years ago and we haven't evolved at all, which is quite disheartening. Except for Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, Balika Vadhu, Udaan there are no path breaking shows. So among hundreds of shows there are just three or four that are up there in terms of content. Rest are all reality shows such as music and dance shows.

Bollywood superstars like Anil Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan are doing television. What is your reaction for the same?
The reach of television is very huge. To be very honest, television resurrected Mr. Bachchan's career, too. Anil Kapoor has also reached practically every home in the country because of television. The best of Bollywood stars are doing television including Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. The reach of TV is so wide that this is the right time to make a transition and give people something worthwhile to watch. 

When do we get to see you in a film again?
I'm very happy doing television. I don't have any aspirations to do films right now. If the transition happens spontaneously then great otherwise I am quite satisfied as an actor.

What kind of television shows are you looking forward to?
I'm choosing the best from what is coming my way and I'm quite happy with my choices.