I will be proud to be called the blue-eyed boy of Ekta Kapoor: Karan Patel

The good looking Karan Patel, who will be seen as a lead on TV after a long hiatus, seems to be pretty confident about his new show Ye Hai Mohabbatein (Balaji Telefilms). The show is an adaptation of Manju Kapoor’s novel Custody and is all set to entertain the audience with a socially relevant message. Talking to Tellychakkar.com, the dashing actor said, “I always like to create a gap between the audience and the actor. Hence I took this deliberate break. But now with this amazing show, I am back on the tube. And with Balaji around, it’s always a great feeling.” “In the show, I will be playing a father for the first time and am pretty excited about it. As an actor it will be my job to play the character with full conviction. Shah Rukh Khan played a father way back in 1988, so it’s not really a big deal. I know other actors have different opinions but am completely fine with it,” he smilingly averred. And what about stepping in the shoes of one of the most talented actor in TV, Cezanne Khan (Cezanne was roped in for the role initially but got replaced later)? “Well, I seriously had no idea that he was playing this role. He is indeed a very good actor and had played an iconic character in his show earlier. But then, since the show is starting with me, I don’t think there is any comparison,” he observed. Talking about the show, Karan describes, “It is adapted from a beautiful novel Custody and is quite a contemporary topic. It has a fantastic approach to the social trauma of calling woman who cannot conceive with so many derogatory terms. I am really proud that with this show, we are doing a social deed.” The actor is paired opposite the very beautiful Divyanka Tripathi. Talking about their chemistry, the actor shared, “Divyanka and I are working for the first time and she is a fantastic actor. She is a very grounded woman and am sure this unusual pair will have loads of chemistry (smiles). Divyanka is completely opposite to me and is so quiet on the sets that people don’t even realise that she is there until she comes to do her scenes. But it will definitely be a good experience being paired with her.” When asked whether he is the blue-eyed boy of Ekta Kapoor, as reports suggest, Karan answered, “Is that so? Well, then I would surely be proud to be one. Ekta is like my mentor; my friend-philosopher and guide. She had been around with me all along and when I got a call from her for this show, I was thrilled.” The actor who was last seen in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa was questioned whether his presence in the reality show re-boosted his career. “The show does give you visibility but if being on a reality show can boost your career, Rahul Roy the winner of Bigg Boss season 1 would have stepped into the shoes of Shah Rukh Khan by now.” And what about the competition he has with the newer crop of actors? “Well, there’s no fun without competition (winks). You would never like to run alone in a race isn’t it. Even I used to be a part of the young crop sometime. Times change but the rest remains the same.” And since he is back with Balaji after a long time, has things changed, we prod him. “Not really, they are still one of the most pampering producers in the industry. And in terms of changes in the industry, today people applaud good concepts and I am sure people will love our show for this. Also I would want the audience to not just watch this show as an entertaining product, but utilize the thoughts we are sharing in a positive way,” he signed off. The show premieres 3 December 2013 at 11 pm.