INTERVIEW: Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar inspire me the most: Hiten Tejwani

Samarth Srivastava

Lucknow: We all know Hiten from ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Pavitra Rishta’ days and he has earned ample of love from audience in every role, in every serial and now the actor is set to relive his theatre love from where he started his career.

Heaping praises on Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar, Telly heartthrob Hiten Tejwani said that he is inspired with the energy the duo boast even after serving the Indian cinema for around three decades.

He spoke at length with newstrack.com in a telephonic interview revealing the person he is from reel to real.

Hiten you’ve been acting for 16 years now. Put some light over your journey so far?

The journey has been very nice. I did different kinds of roles and I have done so many shows in TV. Ofcourse, I did quite a few films also. There are lots of things I would love to in the industry, I will not say I have done all but I am sure that I’ll get opportunities to do lots more in future.

How did you get into acting?

I was doing theatre actually when I started my acting career. As a theatre artist when you see the TV actor who get the opportunity to do a wonderful role and is doing injustice with his/her role, you feel bad.

We learnt recently that you are making a comeback to the theatre after 17 years with a comedy play ‘I love you two’. What it is all about?

I’ve done almost every kind of roles but unfortunately nobody wanted to try comedy with me because my kind of roles were very serious, sometimes grey shade. I don’t know people didn’t want me to do or they didn’t see me in comedy. So, I got the opportunity to do that.

Your TV career was going strong. So, what’s the agenda of shifting to theatre?

See, there is no agenda of shifting. Actually, the roles I’m getting nowadays are quite same which I portrayed before. Lastly, I worked in ‘Ganga’ where I played a father. I did not want to repeat the roles which I sported before. In theatre, there are no retakes like Television and when its comedy, then comedy timing is must.

Hiten, you recently did Bollywood flicks ‘Love Games’ and ‘Saansein’. How was the experience?

Yeah, wonderful ! I shot ‘Love Games’ with Vikram Bhatt and it was a fabulous experience. He is a brilliant director. Unfortunately, the film did not do well at Box Office. But, people liked my performance. With this the responsibility of a celebrity also increases to fulfill their expectations. If I will do something good, I’ll be appreciated and if I’ll do something wrong then they can ask me about the same. So, I have to do justice with every role I play. My role in ‘Love Games’ was small and few more scenes of mine should have been there in the flick. In ‘Saansein’, I again played a different character. I sported the role of ghost hunter for the first time in my acting career.

What difference do you find in theatre, TV and movies?

Theatre is live and there is no chance of retakes. It is very good for an actor as you have to live that character for two hours. TV does not give you time to prepare. When I used to go for a shooting, I did not know what I am going to shoot today. TV is more hectic than movies as you does not know how many scenes you are going to shoot. It all depends on TRPs.

Are you going to return to TV anytime soon?

Yeah, talks are on and there are couple of good scripts which I have come across. I would love to comment only after signing. Nothing is concrete as yet. For an actor, he gets scripts everyday. But, till the time he starts working on it, it should not be good to speak on it.

Are you enjoying this break from TV?

It is not that I am doing nothing. I am doing play which is only helping me and giving me an opportunity to experiment.

Hiten, your favourite character you’ve played so far?

I loved playing Pratham Mittal, my first character in ‘Kutumb’. In Pratham Mittal, there are few things which were not close to me or it was not me but Karan Virani, his character from ‘Kyun Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, was close to me. So, these two characters will always remain close to my heart.

The worst thing in Television that you want to change?

I want to change the repetitiveness in Television. Audience are now sensible and broad minded, they want current topics and good content.

Your pair along with Gauri became popular after ‘Kutumb’ and you guys decided to take a plunge in 2004. How is everything going?

Wonderful, We have a small and happy family.

You and Gauri became parents of twins on November 11, 2009. What changed in the life of you both after their arrival?

After their arrival, everything is for them. First we think about them and then we think about us. Earlier, things were about us but now things were more about them. Luckily, Gauri decided to lead the kids and has turned a boon so far. I must give one advice to all the husbands, just accept whatever your wives say and you’ll remain cherished lifelong.

What lies ahead for you?

There are many offers in TV. There are also few talks about films. Let’s see what happens.

You also played Anurag Basu in ‘Kasauti Zindagi Kay’, how was that going into somebody else’s character on a sudden note? Didn’t you find it difficult?

It was not tough as I don’t had to copy him. When you have copy the character that becomes a little difficult. But, everyone has his own style, so, I just did the same. Likewise, when I entered Pavitra Rishta when Sushant Singh Rajput left then also I was told to do the things in my own way.

Name any two actors of Bollywood who inspires you?

None other than Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar. Both are self-made superstars and have earned stardom on their own. Akshay Kumar is very hardworking, the way he has maintained himself is very inspiring. I did a film with him ‘Its Entertainment’, although I had just one scene in it. I have never seen him face-to-face but in that movie I saw him and got to know that what people say about him is true. He is best and is a director’s actor. If director will ask him to do a stunt, he’ll do it without having any second thought. His films are also doing extremely well at the Box Office. People have accepted him.

Are you a party animal?

Earlier, I used to attend parties but now I am a complete family man.

Do you take life as it comes or do you plan a lot?

No, I don’t plan. I take life as it comes, (usi me maza hai).