MUMBAI: Recently, actor Rajeev Khandelwal appeared in the web series Showtime, which explores the darker side of entertainment. Rajeev talks about his experience transitioning from television to Bollywood, dealing with stardom personally, and other topics in an interview with a well-known news outlet.
When he was asked about whether his showtime character is similar to Shah Rukh Khan and whether he inspires him, Rajiv candidly responded, “My character is not purely based on Shah Rukh Khan. It is an amalgamation of the majority of our seniors, so-called superstars who have been around for many years. It represents the kind of stardom that our industry sees and the power the stars hold. It is not based on one individual, of course. Certain scenes might remind people of SRK but I assure you that I did not imitate him or try to draw inspiration from him.”
“There is no similarity between me and my character Armaan, except the fact that we are both actors. He deals with superstardom, and as for me, I know what fame is. I am not new to fame. So that's probably a similarity. But then, he is very flamboyant, I am not. He loves to bask in his glory, I run away from my glory. I don't like to read about myself or being seen too much, whereas Armaan is a narcissist in the truest manner.”
He emphasized on the major challenges he faced being a public figure, “The major challenge that an actor faces all the time is that people are so judgmental about you without knowing the real side of you. It is easy to pass judgment on an actor because you think you know them, but in reality, you don't know an iota of them. As long as you're judging my character, I am fine, but I am not okay with being judged for the human being I am. It does get frustrating at times because millions would have an opinion about you, but then there's nothing we can do about it.”
His transition from Television to Bollywood, “I may have been one of the first ones, but I never intended to be someone who was proving a point that I was transitioning from television to films. And I have been saying for years now that I never thought films were superior to television. TV is way more challenging than films. The major difference is that in films, the box office numbers come out every day and people get stunned seeing that. But the numbers don't get revealed when it comes to television. The day they give out numbers, television actors will be way bigger than film actors. Unfortunately, people have a very myopic vision of popularity. They believe you're a big actor if you work on the big screen. But in reality, you're a good actor if you can work on every screen. What is the point of having your talent limited to a certain format, a certain medium?”
Also read: "I will soon be out of Left Right Left" - Rajeev Khandelwal
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Credit- Free Press Journal
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