I prefer acting to hosting: Gautam Rode

For Television actor Gautam Rode, understanding a character and playing it to the best of his ability, is more important than hosting a show.

Gautam, who will host the coming edition of celebrity dance show, "Nach Baliye 6" and is also seen in "Saraswatichandra" currently, says that he prefers acting to hosting.

"Acting and anchoring are two sides of the same coin but I prefer acting. I love playing a character and getting into the skin of it. Hosting for me is more like a stressbuster and its all about having fun. But acting is my first love and will always remain my priority," Gautam told IANS in an email interaction.

Gautam has initially been a part of music albums like "Tere Bina" by Abhijeet Bhattacharya and did TV commercials.

He then moved on to television with shows like "Baa Bahoo Aur Baby" and "Lucky" but the big break in his career came in the form of the lead role in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's TV debut show, "Saraswatichandra".

The actor has also anchored shows like "India's Got Talent 3" and "Nach Baliye 5" as well as featured in films like "Annarth" and "Agyaat".

However, the 36-year-old still believes that his "journey has just begun".

"I believe I'm in a very good phase of my life currently. I still feel like a newcomer even today. Whenever I am doing something, I have a feeling that I am doing it for the first time and it is this excitement that keeps me alive," he said.

Anchoring is also a very important part of Gautam's career and he feels that it requires being oneself and creating a "good comfort zone".

"My funda is to be yourself. In anchoring one needs to be as comfortable as possible not only in front of the camera but also try to make the audience comfortable and feel at home . The audience, judges, contestants all need to feel part of one large family," he said.

The actor has his plate is full at the moment and does not feel he has the time to take up anything right now.

"There are only thirty days in a month and I am already doing two shows - 'Saraswatichandra' and 'Nach Baliye'," he said.