'An actor needs to be educated and intelligent' - Abhinav Shukla

Abhinav Shukla, who is now portraying the role of Dev in Star One's popular show Geet Hui Sabse Parayi, talks his heart out with Tellybuzz..

Published: Wednesday,Nov 24, 2010 18:03 PM GMT-07:00

Saranya Valsarajan

Abhinav Shukla is known to be an actor who has proved to be one with the characters he has portrayed. He was seen as the sporty Arjun in Jersy No.10 and is now depicting the helpless Dev in Star One's popular show Geet Hui Sabse Parayi. But apart from acting this actor has other passions too, and is a bundle of talents.

Tellybuzz had a chat with this actor regarding his life and interests which are a bit hatke from the other telly actors.

Excerpts!!!

You have been associated with roles of variance in all the shows that you did, how has the experience been?

As an actor it is a great opportunity to be associated with shows and characters of various nature. But at the same time I have always been associated with shows that are youth oriented, hence I would like to do shows that are really challenging and break from the normal youth based shows. I would like to do a show like Uttaran or a show with a rural background or a character with some disability.

But do you think with an appearance like yours, you will be offered such a role?

That's the unfortunate thing in this industry because the role goes along with the looks, but I am ready to take the challenge in my looks for any character that comes my way.

Which character of yours has been close to Abhinav in real life?

The character that I played in Jaane Kya Baat Hui resembles me because like me Shantanu was also a Punjabi and used to speak Hindi with a mixture of English. But actually the script did not have much of English that I had used but the unit never complained about it.

Which one of the characters did you enjoy doing the most?

I enjoyed being the character Arjun in Jersy No.10 because the role was good and the show was really tough with respect to the technical aspect. The show demanded different location sbased on the scenes and sport and also the shoot was tough because the weather gave us a rough time. The reality was that even though only the characters were shown sporty, every member of the crew including the director had to run on the field holding the camera. All the outdoor shoots were memorable experiences.

How are your fans reacting after you started with Geet?

I don't know if there are enough number of fans for me (laughs), but my friends and fans on Facebook and other social networking sites comment that I am doing well. They were very happy in the beginning of the show where I was romancing and marrying Geet. But as the revelation took place, they were worried and asked me not to do that. But they consoled me saying that whatever be it, I look good on the show and asked me not to worry about the character because I am an actor at the end of the day.

Why did you choose 'Geet Hui Sabse Parayi'?

There are no specific reasons for that. Actually I was planning to do my DOP course in US but I was short of finance and that was when the show was offered to me. When I read the script I could relate to what was happening in my place. I am from Punjab and I have heard families looking for an NRI for their girls and end up being cheated. So I thought I should give it a try.

When you took up Geet, did you ever think that the show would be this successful?

I never thought that the show would bag this success. The audience had an amazing feeling when they saw the first few episodes but later when the secret was revelaed and the negative intention was out of the box then the reaction changed which was later back on track when Maan entered. Now the production is really happy with the development of the show.

Maan is a very popular character in the show; do you think the character overshadows Dev?

Not at all because we are not competing with each other and he deserves whatever success he has received because he is just superb.

Your upbringing?

I am from Punjab and as a kid I was always curious and inquisitive. My dad is a scientist; hence I was brought up loving science and have a good aptitude for the subject. My mother is a language teacher, but I was very poor in her subject and we were in the same school. I have a brother who is in Navy. I did my Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Punjab Technical University and now it's been three years and seven months since I moved to Mumbai.

What is it that you miss a lot after you became an actor?

Interaction with normal people is what I miss a lot because the circle is restricted. When I was in college I was among people who had a scientific set of mind where we would discuss on science and related topics and now I miss that technical company.

You have been in ads too, what do you enjoy more? What are the benefits and losses in doing a daily soap and ads?

Serials provide a good platform to learn acting and tells you how to work under stress because there is limited time in which you have to finish a lot. But commercials at the same time are eased out and you can get a good earning wherein you get to travel in different locations. In television, the personal life is at a stake and health is also compromised where the work can go up to 12 to 13 hours a day. In the show you act according to the director which sometimes does not please you and also you are being exposed to sharp lights without a shadow which is really tough to face.

You are known to be a passionate photographer, can you describe about that?

I love photography and I have my own accessories and I recently bought the Cannon 550 and 350 led flash light and I have the full photography kit with me. My favourite subject for photography is kids as they are very natural, and do not pose or pretend in front of the camera.

Other than photography what are your hobbies?

I am a garage guy, so you can always see me with my bikes and its accessories; also I like trekking and camping too. I am 'Man v/s Wild' kind of a guy.

After being a passionate photographer and educationally sound why did you move into acting?

I believe, for one to become an actor he needs a caliber and should be educated and intelligent to observe and learn. I am educationally qualified and I observe things around me, and I feel that I still look good (laughs).

What was your family's reaction?
They are really very supportive and all are happy with what I am now.

It is a notion in the industry that model turned actors cannot do justice to acting as a profession, what is your comment regarding this?

As a model you learn different things like how to face the camera, to look good and various other aspects. People, who think that modeling is a wonderful industry to work in, are wrong in their notion and really not true. I personally do not fit in the modeling industry as there is no scope of growth and creativity because it is the same ramp walk and facing the cameras I am doing always. But acting is a vast field where you learn a lot many things.

Any other offers other than Geet from the industry?

There are offers coming and going but once you are committed to a show you cannot do justice to many others, but if something interesting and different comes up I would definitely be a part of it.

Reporter and Author: Saranya Valsarajan