Caught in the act
Amarjot Kaur
Considering that his father is Amarjit Singh Rajpal, a politician with the Shiromani Akali Dal and is based out of Ludhiana, Punjab, a general preconception may lead you to think that Karam Rajpal, a television actor, might just be too spoilt for choices, which are often offered to the kinfolk of the powerful lot on a platter along with the silver spoon! Too much for judging; Karam Rajpal arrives with a modest disposition that breathes effortlessly between subtle smiles, thereby allowing a breezy conversation that elaborates not only about his career choice, but also about his new television show, titled Mere Angane Mein.
The road less travelled
“I used to play cricket under 19 and was a good athlete, but my father wanted me to become an actor,” begins Karam, who shares that he even ran away from his house so that his parents don’t force him to become an actor, but in vain. “Well, I have never liked politics and I wanted to become a cricketer, but when I ran away from home, my mother persuaded me and convinced me that I must act, so I thought of giving it a try,” he shares.
Having moved to Mumbai, Karam landed a role in a television show titled Hamari Saas Leela in 2010 in only seven months and then there was no looking back. The actor went on to do several shows, including Parichay, Kya Huaa Tera Vaada, Suvreen Guggal—The Topper of the Year and Nadaan Parindey. “I do not regret not becoming a cricketer, but I did face many challenges as I knew nothing about acting and the first thing that I did was to join Roshan Taneja’s acting school to groom myself as an actor,” he says.
Rock and role
Karam, who has acted in as many as seven shows so far, with the recent one being Mere Angane Mein, shares that he prefers to do negative roles since they give him more room to experiment and explore his creative potential, especially when it comes to acting. “I am really fond of playing negative roles because they help me to explore my creative potential. Also, I improvise a lot, thereby not sticking to the script all the time,” he says. While talking about his role, Shivam Shrivastava in Mere Angane Mein, Karam shares that it is that of a sweet next door boy, but then it also has many layers to it. “Also, we deliver one-take shots for this show as we have to save time since this is a one-hour long show. I remember, we shot an 18-minute long shot in one of the sequences where Shivam’s family meets Riya’s family, who is his love interest, ” he says.
Twists and turns
Though it has only been about a month and ten days that the show has been on air, Karam is excited about the plot, caring not too much about the TRPs, which he feels have their own positives and negatives.
“The up and coming sequences of the show will witness a bumpy ride through commotion and confusion regarding Riya’s wedding, who is in love with Shivam, but Amit asks her hand in marriage,” he says. “I think TRPs are good in a way because they gauge the viewership of your show, but at the same time, they are not a good benchmark for judging the content of the show,” he adds.
So, while you make your mind about which one out of quantity and quality appeal to you, Karam signs off while saying that he will soon shift focus from television after his contract gets over and will take up films instead! “I am eyeing Bollywood now,” he smiles.
amarjot@tribunemail.com
