Television is often mistreated by actors who use it as a stepping stone to launch their film careers, but Mohit Malik says he is not going anywhere till the time he is being offered good roles in the medium.
The 33-year-old actor started his journey with "Miilee" in 2006 and over the years has starred in shows like "Jab Love Hua", "Pari Hoon Main" and "Doli Armaano Ki".
Actors who also commenced their TV journey around the same time have moved on to the films. But Malik says he gets "creative satisfaction" from the medium and that is why he choose to stay there.
"I love everything about this medium. There is nothing that I don't like about it. And that is why I have spent so many years here. I will be forever here till the end of my life. I get creative satisfaction from this medium. There are so many actors who say that they don't get creative satisfaction from TV but I get it," Malik told PTI.
"I think it is also practice for you as an actor. You come here daily and perform your part. So for an actor, it is riyaaz. This is what I feel about all this. I get so happy to perform in this medium. I get tremendous joy from it," he adds.
Malik also feels that the popularity of a TV actor supersedes that of a film star as people see them daily and consider a part of their lives.
"There is a lot of popularity that we get at the same time. There are times when people are not able to recognise the film stars. Because they love TV so much as it is only medium of entertainment for them. TV and its actors are quite big for them," he says.
The common grievance most actors have from television is that they are often offered either stereotypical characters or same roles that they played in their previous shows.
Malik considers himself lucky that he has never been offered same roles and says, "So far, the roles I have played both negative and positive roles. And in my last show, the character had grey shades. So, the example is in front of you. Change is happening. If you know how to work and play different characters, then everything will be fine with you."
He adds, "I work on my looks as well. In the last show, the look and personality of the character was different. I don't want the same thing to get carried forward to another character. This is what I tend to do that. So I try my best to play a different and a new character every time."
But will he consider giving a try to Bollywood? Malik says that as long as he getting different characters to play on TV, he will not but he is averse to the film medium.
"Just for the sake of doing Bollywood films, I don't want to enter Bollywood. There are so many actors who are desperate for movies but I don't agree with this. Until and unless, I don't get the role of my choice, I will not leave TV."
"If I am getting good roles on TV, then why should I leave it. The character that I play in my new show is hard to find, even in a film. It is a fantastic role. When I watch the movies, there are only one or two which I like. There is nothing great happening in that side also. I think TV is so big and happening. New shows are coming up and new concepts are there. So medium is not important but work is. Whether it is the TV or the films or the digital medium," he adds.
He believes that an actor should always be ready to put in hardwork when he is making his TV debut as it not easy to work in the medium.
"There is hardwork in it but that is normal. At times our shooting hours are stretched but it is part of the job. When you are getting into this profession, then all kinds of things are going to happen and no one can avoid it," he says.
Malik currently stars in the show "Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala", which is a remake of the Bengali series "Potol Kumar Gaanwala". He plays the role of Sikandar Singh Gill, an accalimed musician in it.
"This is till now one of the best shows that I have done. This is the most difficult, entertaining and challenging role for me. When it came to me, I was on cloud nine because I really wish to do some really good work on TV and this is it. I have waited for it.
"After my previous show, it took me time to find a good role. I had signed two shows but things didn't materialised. Then this role came to me and I was also very excited to play this character," he says.
Malik says he did not watch the original show because he wanted to give the character his own version.
"For me it is not the same character and I wanted to play it my way. It is quite different. I have never played a rockstar. Though he is a rockstar, there is a personal side to him and people will get to know how he lives his life. Music plays a very big role in this show because is a musical drama."
"I worked on my Punjabi because the character hails from Punjab. So I worked on my Punjabi as well as on my singing. I have a mentor who teaches me. I have been told that I have to sing for the show and I have four months to prepare for this. So I will singing in the show," he adds.
"Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala", also starring Aakriti Sharma, Shruti Sharma and Anjali Anand, airs on Star Plus from Monday to Friday at 8.30 PM and streams on Hotstar.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
