Nothing negative

Manpriya Singh

Television actor Praneet Bhatt doesn’t see much fun in being ‘goody-goody’. Onscreen that is. There are no shades of grey, no layers to a character, no depths. In short, no impact! “Of my 10 years in the industry, I have seen good boy roles quite restricted with lines like Maa Main Aa Gaya,” he chuckles, while all kicked about playing an antagonist all over again in soon-to-be-aired Rishton Ka Chakravyuh on Star Plus.

“Bad guys’ roles are the meatier ones. They are definitely more enriching as an actor and given the Indian television, they have much more juice in them,” he shares while in Chandigarh for promotions.

It’s not that he hasn’t played a good guy ever. “But then you should have something to give to the audience. For instance, I have played a detective so that is a positive role yet slightly meaty. Or serials like Kittu Sab Janti Hai and Geet, where I had a comic character.” Then who can forget the Shakuni act in Mahabharata?

As for the Rishton Ka Chakravyuh, a story depicting a collision between a mother-daughter, he gets to make things wrong, break the rules and be evil.

An engineer-turned-actor

For someone with a background in engineering, showbiz is an unlikely place to be. “I have done mechanical engineering from Nasik…my father accidentally found out about my stint on MTV when he saw me on TV. That’s when he told me to go chase my dreams seriously. He asked me to be a great actor like Pran. My sister is a scientist and everyone in my family is an engineer. However, my father asked me to complete my studies before pursuing my dreams.”

A Kashmiri Pandit

As a Kashmiri Pandit who migrated from the Valley and settled in Jammu, “he has been breathing and living the cause of Kashmir.” A subject that is too intense and sensitive, for which he has a script. “But it’ll take me a lot to actually put it into three hours. I would also need the right producers to back the project.” Once it all falls into place, it’s an issue he’d love to take up.

Pran, Amrish Puri…

It’s not just the villains he admires. A couple of well-known character artistes with a background in theatre figure in his list as well. “Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, and Salman Khan.” Of course, apart from “Pran and Amrish Puri.”

(The show starts on August 7 at 6 pm on Star Plus)

manpriya@tribunemail.com