Any reason for keeping away from television for a long time till you signed Saat Phere? Well, I wanted to be missed, maintain the exclusivity and not be caught in every second show. Besides, nothing worthwhile was coming my way. I, too, was in a state of flux. From being the main lead to playing character roles takes a while to adapt to. So, there were a number of factors that kept me away from the scene. Saat Phere was one of the shows that had a sensible sub- ject. Initially, there was plenty of scope for the father-daughter relationship. Now I am just an anguished father. In fact, I've never played a more helpless character, he gives in to every- thing because of his daughter. How do you view the current sce- nario on television? I'm very angry. There are only women everywhere. Men simply stand by their side. I don't like this situation at all. It's unreal and restricts versatility because , the other characters don't feel as involved. Earlier too, there were shows in which the woman was promi- nent like Neena Gupta in Khan- daan. But I had an equally impor- tant role in that show. And, who can forget my popular negative character Naresh Malhotra in Parampara? Yet viewers rooted for him and castigated the right- eous sister Devyani (Neena Gupta). That was a memorable phase. What's new? I've begun shooting for Virrudh (Sony). The role is shaping up well. I play Smriti Mishra's uncle. He has a sweet tongue but a heart of poison. I'd love to do male-dominated thrillers or even detective shows. But no one has the guts to make them. That's the reason I haven't tak- en on anything apart from these two shows. I really can't be so choosy But if I have to be in the . rat race, then I'd like to be a fat rat. Dil ko baazu mein rakhke kaam kar raha hoon. Of the 10 shows I do, I should get one role that makes my heart happy .
