Interview | Rajeev Khandelwal: TV content does not appeal to me

Rajeev Khandelwal, who was last seen in the TV show Reporters, is all set to make a comeback after a two-year hiatus. He will foray into the digital space with a web series titled Haq Se, which is being produced by Ekta Kapoor. The duo will work together after a decade since Kahiin To Hoga was aired, which had made Rajeev a small-screen heartthrob. Here, he talks about exploring a new medium, doing films off the beaten track and why the content on TV doesn’t appeal to him...

From TV to films to web, you have explored everything.  

Yes. For me, the medium doesn’t make any difference. I’m still acting and that’s what is important. With time and technology, the space will keep changing. Web has made its presence felt everywhere, after this something else may come up. The achievement should be to work on all platforms. Will I be accepted by the web, TV, film and theatre audience? Now, that would be challenging and fun.

Which medium do you find more challenging to work in?

Television is very demanding. We shoot episodes as the telecast is on and have to accommodate last-minute changes according to the audience feedback. On the other hand, I find that filming for cinema as well as web is the same because we get the script in advance, it is shot and then released either online or in theatres. But as an actor, all the three are same for me. Once I’m in front of the camera, I don’t think about the medium.

After Reporters, one would have expected to see you more on the small screen...

I got a lot of offers, but I didn’t find them exciting. Recently, I was approached for a mythological show, but I politely turned it down. I didn’t even ask what they wanted me to play because it didn’t interest me. I’m sure the shows are according to the taste that is prevalent, but the content doesn’t appeal to me. The kind of audience that used to watch Kahiin To Hoga, Kasautii Zindagii Kay or for that matter Banegi Apni Baat has deserted TV. They have either moved on to the web or are watching international series. When I’m surfing channels, I find a lot of similarity between serials, in fact, they look like copies! I think it’s one way of being in the rat race — if one show works, it leads to a lot of prototypes. I’m just hoping that something like Reporters, which was different, comes to me, then I will consider it.

You are known to take long gaps between projects and stay away from the limelight. Is it deliberate?

That’s how I am. I neither feel the need to have a PR machinery nor do I believe in posting pictures of my holidays, having an affair with somebody and breaking up! Except for Twitter, I’m not on social media. Also, work is not the be-all and end-all of my life. I feel people will not remember me if I’m not around. That way, I can start from scratch. It makes things a lot easier as there is no baggage. But whenever people do see me, they walk up and give me a smile. There is that excitement in them when I’m in a project and I wonder why. But I still feel the need to win them over with every project.

Though Reporters was not high on TRPs, you won over a new generation of viewers...

Yes, and they are surprisingly younger girls. When 15-year-old girls address me by my name and say they like me, I don’t know how to react!

What prompted you to do Haq Se?

Web is a different world and since people know I like to do diverse stuff, I was offered a lot of web shows. But I wasn’t sure how many people actually watch them. However, when I was approached for this series and was told that it is being handled by Ekta, I decided to go ahead. Ekta knows her job. When I was given the script, it blew me away. It is based on the classic novel Little Women and is basically about four sisters. Haq Se is set in Kashmir and the way it has been adapted, the Valley also becomes another character. I thought it was ambitious and my only concern was the budget because I had heard that money is tight on web shows. But the way Ekta has spent on it, the amount is bigger than any films I have been part of!

Tell us about your character in the series.

I play a doctor and like every other character in the series, he has his own quirks. What he is on the outside does not reflect what he is inside. You will see several sides to him — he is silent, brooding and idiosyncratic, but he has his reasons. There is a lot of turmoil, angst and pain in him, which you will know when you watch it.

After Kahiin To Hoga, there were problems between Ekta and you. How was that sorted out?

Ekta is one of the most professional producers and this is not the first time she and I made an attempt to work together after Kahiin To Hoga. A lot of people had a certain perception about her and me ever since I quit that show in 2005. But they didn’t know that throughout that phase, whenever both of us met at parties or events, she was polite and warm. There were a couple of occasions when we almost worked together, but it didn’t happen. So, when we met this time, I could see the same enthusiastic Ekta passionately giving me a narration the way she had done during Kahiin To Hoga. It felt as though there was no gap between us in terms of working with each other. Then, I met the same set of people at Balaji. I also caught up with Jeetuji (Jeetendra) and Shobhaji, which was great.