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Divine role
Chandigarh-born Gurmeet Choudhary, Ram of NDTV Imagine’s
Ramayan, in a tête-à-tête with Seema Sachdeva
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Gurmeet will soon be seen in Shashi Sudigala’s Cycle Kick
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Ramayan,
produced by Sagar Arts, was the first show that launched NDTV
Imagine. So there must have been immense pressure on you to
perform?
When I came to
know that Ramayan would be the first show to launch NDTV
Imagine, I was very scared. In fact, one or two months before
the show started, I could concentrate on nothing else. I had to
make sure that my language and body mannerisms fitted the
character of the biggest hero of Hindu religion. Also, I was
very tense since the role of Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan
had been performed by an experienced artist like Arun Govil.
I knew there would be lot of expectations from me.
How has the
response been?
Despite being the
first major mythological show since Ramayan and Mahabharata
were telecast nearly two decades back, it appealed to the
audience. In fact, within the first week of its launch, the
channel reached number 3 in the TRP rating.
While it was easy
to make the show acceptable to the people, making it a daily
series was a big challenge, especially since the show was being
aired at prime time and there were many reality shows competing
with it.
Though Sagar Arts
has launched the show, yet it hasn’t been able to match the
appeal and euphoria that Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan
created. Do you think so?
Twenty years back
when Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan came, TV was still a
novelty. In fact, seeing mythological characters on the screen
itself was quite magical. The entire family would sit together
to watch Ramayan. However, things have changed a lot
these days. With so many channels and options available, people
today have access to a variety of entertainment.
Despite this,
there has been a tremendous response to our Ramayan. This
indicates that even today people want their children to learn
the morals and values that are inherent in our sacred texts.
Do you think
mythological serials are a formula to increase the TRPs?
Before the launch
of Ramayan, saas-bahu serials dominated the scene. In
that background, I would say Ramayan has been able to
create its own space. In fact, it has also been responsible for
spearheading a number of such shows on television. Today every
channel has a mythological show running.
In these times of
reality shows, do you think people react to mythological
programmes?
Although a lot of
reality shows and comedy shows are hogging the limelight,
mythological shows have their own charm. Our show has received
tremendous response. In fact, I was very touched when an elderly
woman touched my feet while we were on a tour of Jodhpur and
Jaipur to promote the show.
Most of the actors
doing such roles tend to join politics after the show ends. Do
you have any such plans?
No I have no such
plans. At present I am only focussing on the concluding part of
the show, which will be a grand affair.
What kind of roles
do you want to do?
I am an actor and
am open to doing all kinds of stuff. I am not averse to doing
negative roles.
Ramayan
is coming to an end soon. What are your future projects?
Though I have been
getting lots of offers, at present I am concentrating only on Ramayan,
which is due to conclude on June 26 after being on air for
one-and-a-half years. My film Cycle Kick, produced by
Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Searchlight and directed by Shashi
Sudigala, will be released soon.
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