The channel wanted me to play Veer : Rohit Khurana

It’s no mean task to enter a show, which has three popular protagonists and yet make a mark with a character, who is a drug addict and an obsessed lover. Rohit Khurana who plays Vansh in Uttaran is getting popular by each passing day. Rohit’s character of Vansh has been appreciated by many people and his fans are quite curious to know about him. He has done a few Telugu movies; however being a Delhi-ite it was not an easy task for him. Rohit spoke to us about his career and personal life. On his background I was modelling after my college in Delhi. I came here in Mumbai five years ago to act in Hindi films, which did not happen. Instead I ended up getting Telugu movies. I was busy with those films nearly for three years. I shot my first film entirely in the US; however I was not aware about the language at all. My director wanted me to learn the language and now I can pronounce all the Telugu words though I cannot get their meanings. In South they follow a good system of giving you the entire script of the film in advance so it becomes easier for you to prepare your character. On getting Vansh I received a call from the producers and they told me they were looking for new faces to introduce in Uttaran opposite Ichcha and Tapasya. They wanted two new male leads and gave me the brief for Veer’s character. I auditioned for both Veer and Vansh. They called me back informing I was finalised for Veer’s role, but I told them I wanted to do Vansh. After a month they told me that the channel was keen on casting me as Veer. I refused it and gave my reasons. Finally after a month they again called me saying I could play Vansh. How much do you identify with this character? It is a challenging role. He is very unpredictable, he gets easily frustrated. It is one of the most powerful characters of the show, but I am not at all close to Vansh except that I can talk to anyone by looking in that person’s eyes. Otherwise we are poles apart. How did you prepare for this character? I visited a rehabilitation centre in Mumbai. There I got to see closely how those people reacted to certain things, I tried to pick up their mannerisms and some traits. I worked out on the look but I also realised that these people do not really care about their appearance; so I had to grow my hair and beard. Earlier, I had a clean shaven look then I went for the kurta -denim look. My creative team too fleshed him out; they told me that Vansh is very aggressive and expressive. My director too helped me in portraying him right. Did you expect Vansh to be so popular? I knew that television was no longer a small medium but the response has been great. When people call out to me as Vansh ; it feels nice. There are two incidents I will never forget in my life. Once after an award function I was waiting for my car at the gate when a car stopped near me and the window pane came down. It was Kirron Kher who stopped and asked if I was Vansh from Uttaran and that she loved my character and acting. It was a mind blowing moment for me. I felt though I wasn’t nominated for any awards, I had got mine. She made my day. Then once I went to my friend’s reception attended by some Bollywood families. Surprisingly there too, few people from the industry recognised me and then Pinky Roshan came forward to tell me how she has been watching the show and appreciated my acting. How does he manage the erratic working hours of daily soaps? Initially it was bit difficult; I do get irritated at times but you gain some you lose some. The set up is good, everyone is always smiling. Time flies quickly on the sets. I do not have any friends in the industry so whenever I get a day off I prefer to keep that for myself. I do know a few people but I do not know anyone personally. My co-stars are also supportive and nice. On his family My family always felt I should do something I can enjoy. So they never objected about my career. My sister is actually in this profession, she is a make-up artist and does make up for ads, films and her specialty is in visual effects make up. Are you single? No, I am committed to someone who belongs to this industry; she is not into acting, she is behind the camera. I won’t like to talk more about her. Are you open to doing more shows? I have been getting offers for other shows but I will not able to play lead in any other show at this moment, as Uttaran is going strong now. There are film offers but it is tough to commit to them. I am open to doing reality shows especially dance reality shows, as I can dance well and even a show like Bigg Boss is fine by me.”