Achint Kaur -interview!

"TELEVISION IS EVEN BIGGER THAN FILMS TODAY"

WITH HER BRIGHT CHEESY SMILE AND AN INFORMAL YET COMMANDING PERSONA, ACHINT KAUR HAS FAITHFULLY LINGERED ON AS THE FACE OF MEANINGFUL TELEVISION. SHE NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION, NOR ANY REFERENCES. ROLES THAT NEWCOMERS DIDN'T DARE TO TAKE UP SOON BECAME HER FORTE. SHE IS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON'T GET DISTORTED BY THEIR SCREEN IMAGE — THAT IS TO SAY, SHE COMES ACROSS ON SCREEN EXACTLY THE WAY SHE WOULD IF SHE'D MEET YOU FOR LUNCH. A SHARP MIND WITH A BOLD IN-YOUR-FACE ATTITUDE AND OODLES OF GENUINENESS TO ADD TO THAT. WHEN IT IS TIME TO ADD SPICE TO A RONA-DHONA SHOW, YOU KNOW WHOM TO CALL. ACHINT TELLS ME ABOUT HER RECENT SHOW VIRUDDH, AND LIFE THE WAY IT IS FOR HER AT THE MOMENT…

ST: With Viruddh creating such uproar, how did you landed the part?

AK: Smriti (Irani) called me and told me that there was an interesting part and the two lines that she told me about it were enough for me. I immediately knew that I wanted to do it. The detailing was spoken about later, but the crux of it was completely up my alley. I told her, 'Sure, I'll do it!' It was as simple as that.

ST: Achint plays Vedika, a very complex woman with a lot of personal issues to sort out, elaborate.

AK: She has a compulsive drinking problem; she's an alcoholic, but has a brilliant heart; she's very warm and loving. She is extremely possessive about her family and is blunt to your face. A very weak person, she tries to cope with her issues by behaving the way she does. That is Vedika for you.

ST: How does it feel to be part of Smriti Irani's debut production?

AK: Perfectly fine. Absolutely chilled out. There are no issues as such; she is a fine producer.

ST: Has she been accused of switching loyalties, in terms of working for a show, which is causing a considerable blow to the Ekta Kapoor league of daily soaps? How has it affected her equation with Balaji?

AK: I have worked with 20 odd producers. They are producers and I am a freelancer. They hire us for a job and that's it. Why should the equation change? It starts and ends there. The question of loyalties comes up, when you ask me right now. There was no thought before.

ST: Tell us something about your work commitments?

AK: Right now, I am doing Karam Apna Apna, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki depending on their requirements. They are all very old subjects now, which everyone knows of. At the same time, I am looking for some different, interesting characters. I am open to meeting people regarding this, but nothing has been finalised.

ST: Does she miss being part of Kahaani… and Kyunki… after her long association with them?

AK: Not Kyunki…but Kahaani… was comfort ground for me. I enjoyed working there; I enjoyed the set-up and everything. That is one place that I think has actors. At that point, my character (Pallavi) was not required anymore, so we decided that I could be brought back later. I am not out of the story though. It is a very pivotal character. With Kyunki… there was always an understanding that I would be called for, when I am needed. I'd go there for a while, do my job and then be out.

ST: Her choice for characters seems to lean towards the negative, comment.

AK: Since the past three years, it has been so. Actually, I was fed up of playing the characters I was offered. I have always played strong, real, contemporary roles. I was really bored of that. So when Kyunki…and Kahaani…came along, the negative approach to acting was different for me. There is no such thing like I only want to play negative roles. In fact, I have been very lucky. Even at times when I am playing a negative character in one show, I have always had a positive character in another show. I am an actor; I'll always want to do something different.

ST: Achint has been romantically involved with Mohan Kapur and they have been living together with her son, as a family now, for almost a decade. Are there any special reasons, for not having tied the knot as yet?

AK: We are two individuals who have their own identities. We are independent; we let the other person breathe and the other person lets you breathe. My issue was that I was always looking for someone who is intelligent and multi-faceted. Someone who can make me laugh, and is a little mad like me, because I am a very mad human being! We just gelled as two people and that's it.

ST: Do you believe in stepping into diverse areas and exploring opportunities in life

AK: I was preparing for an exam when I got married, but that went down the drain. I was a national athlete and a paratrooper, a mountaineer. My focus in life was very different. Things happened the way they did and I got married. I have started enjoying acting and now it has become a hobby. The kind of person I am, I've always wanted to do something different. I had a lot of offers for joint ventures but they were things of which I had little or no knowledge. This was family and I was aware of the way it works. My business partner always wanted me to take up something interesting. She'd tell me, 'For how long will you act?' Also, I am such that if I don't like something I cannot do it. This just worked out. I was there at the right time.

ST: You have been very loyal to television, comment.

AK: It has been a long time now. With movies, what happens is that once you are busy doing television, people have this myth about you that you don't have time. That is their mindset; you cannot go about changing people's thought process. This stops them from approaching you. I haven't pursued films anyway. Neither have I done any extraordinary roles. Nothing has come along. TV stars suffer in a way. At the best, what would I have been offered? A character role in a film? Such roles don't pay us the way television does. So if you have to give about 20 days, you end up losing a lot of money. Not just a little money.

Television today has changed. It is huge now; maybe even bigger than films in a way. You don't miss anything. I would love to do films. But somebody has to offer me something nice. I feel after being here for this long, everyone knows of you. They know who you are, the work you have done and what you are capable of. The whole effort of starting again to pursue films…I somehow don't have the time or the patience to do it.