Relationships less emotional, more practical now: Kushal Punjabi

Actor Kushal Punjabi, who has turned director with the short film "The Gift" -- which talks about relationships in modern times -- says in the present days, relationships have taken a backseat compared to people's career and other aspects of life.

That is what is also showcased in SonyLIV's "The Gift".

"People have become more competitive in their work and less appreciative of their partner. They are more independent and don't want to get into the whole rigmarole of marriage. Relationships have become weak and are not as strong as they were before... They are more practical now," Kushal told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

He pointed out how "modernization has its advantages and disadvantages" and this reduced value for relationships, he says, is "the downside".

Kushal features in "The Gift" with Gul Panag and Mandira Bedi portraying powerful roles.

Kushal, who started his television career with the series "A Mouthful of Sky", has appeared in Hindi films like "Lakshya", "Kaal" and a string of TV shows in the past. His last Bollywood outing was "Crazy Cukkad Family", which he had also co-written.

Since then, did he get the projects he was aspiring for?

"There were no film projects as it didn't work well. After that, I was on my own personal journey.

"I got married and last year only I had a baby. So, I was focusing on that. It didn't matter... Everything is not about the next project and then after that. I think my next project in life was to get married, have a child and move on to something I really wanted to do. It's working perfectly and exactly the way I wanted," Kushal said.

The 35-year-old actor says things are better for those who have godfathers in the industry.

"This was far more challenging. I came up from being a TV actor, did films, music videos, wrote a film for Prakash Jha and finally made my own short film. The struggle has been there, but when I look back at my career, I can say 'It's all mine'."

"When you have help, the opening of the doors happens easily. If I had a godfather then for my next script, I could have approached a big production house straight away and at least showed it to them."

In terms of future plans, Kushal says he wants to "write, direct and act more".

--IANS

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