Harsh Vasisht talks about his character in Veera!

As an actor do you relate with the character of Kartar Singh in Veera on Star Plus?

Yes, but at many levels I cannot because of the kind of circumstances this particular character has been through. Only the one who has experienced such circumstances can understand and relate. Nonetheless, what I can relate with is his emotional depth, his loyalty towards friendship and family. But certain things that have happened in his life, I guess is something that I need to work out on. Kartar is an extremely emotional guy. His anger also stems from the fact that he loves a lot. So at that level, I think it's one of the most emotional characters I have played. He is tough and yet emotional.

Being a man, do you think Kartar is justified in his feelings for Ratan?

Well, people might find this surprising but yes. This is because if you put yourself in the situation of a village in North India, where someone who is your best friend has gone away, you have seen his wife struggle so badly and you had this fondness of a relationship with that person over the years. I think his love stems more out of the fact of possessiveness, duty and now jealousy.  He doesn't love her because he is some kind of a lover-boy. He is married. So in the given situation he is not justified at a moral level but as a person his feelings are justified, because he has done a lot for that family, for Ratan and all of a sudden just because of certain people talking ill about them, it has all changed for him.

So in your opinion people talking about Kartar's and Ratan's relationship is what triggered his feelings for her?

Of course it did! There was a dialogue in the initial episodes where Kartar tells his wife that I have spent more time in Sampooran's house than in my house. Kartar was actually removed from that house because of what Bhaktawar said about the duo. So that really hurt him and that's what made him feel the whole catharsis of his emotions where he is trying to figure out as to why this is happening and why he is feeling so bad. At the end of that whole spectrum of emotions he realizes that there must be something more than just caring towards Ratan.

What about Ratan do you think draws Kartar?

I think the way the character has been written. Her individuality, her strength and the fact that she's been able to do so much on her own. Someone like Kartar would expect her to break down when disaster strikes her, but she has just been standing up to every challenge and I think that's where the respect grew in his heart.

Do you really think Kartar wants to see Ratan break down?

See we did a 5 years transition very fast. May be in his initial phase he was feeling like that but we joined the story at a point where the fact that Sampooran is gone is taken for granted and the fact that he's been helping her as much as possible is also taken for granted. So I guess it grew to a point that he is just supporting her from the outside, but as an onlooker also enjoys watching her strength as oppose to wanting to see her weak. In fact, Kartar himself went through a very weak phase where Ratan was again trying to be his strength. So I think he enjoys the fact that she is a strong woman.

Do you think Kartar really loves Ratan?

Yes! Love again is a very broad term. He loves Ratan because somewhere he has not really found the true love or he's not really found what he wanted from his relationships. His mother died, his best friend cheated on him, so somewhere this is his whole take on redemption that may be if Ratan is with me everything will become OK.

If Kartar loves Ratan, then what are his feelings for Gurpreet at the moment?

At the moment from Gurpreet's point of view Kartar is being a jerk. What he is doing to her is pure evil. He is being too self consumed with his own feelings and he is not looking at her. I would say if Kartar is negative right now then it's more towards Gurpreet than anybody else.

So is it a feeling of indifference that Kartar feels towards Gurpreet?

No. Right now she actually shows him the mirror and that's very scary for him. When Kartar realizes that he loves Ratan, it was Gurpreet who showed him the mirror saying what's wrong with you; you basically can't see anybody with her. So when one is riding on two emotional boats, when one is not sure of what is happening and if somebody constantly shows the mirror, then that person gets to his receiving end. She shows him his insecurities immediately. Gurpreet is such a good wife that she understands Kartar more than he understands himself. That's why he often bursts out in anger.

How would you differentiate between a Kartar and a Bhaktawar when it comes to Ratan?

Though Kartar's feeling for Ratan is immoral since he is married, I for one am 100% sure that it's not a passionate attraction that he feels for Ratan. It's more of an emotional attachment. On the other hand, Bhaktawar's is pure lust. I don't think Kartar is looking at Ratan as an object of lust and desire. He is looking at her because he cares for her, he wants to help her.