‘I’m not pretentious’, says actor-host Vishal Malhotra

What prompted you to take up this show on Disney?

Disney is my home. I started my career with Disney 25 years ago. When I was offered this show, I grabbed it. This is a show with a lot of fun and entertainment.

What will be your role?

DIY (Do It Yourself) is the theme of the show. This will be led by an excellent artist, Simran. I will be connecting with the audience in different ways. In today’s time when group activities at home are a rare thing, we will try to connect a family through this show. Right now, kids are more into long screen time, while we will try to engage them with various activities in the show.

What is your take-away from a show like this?

The pandemic has taught us how important nature and health are! This show will teach us how to recycle various stuff. And this I want to teach my seven-year-old daughter as well because otherwise our planet will be empty in the not-so-distant future.

What are the qualities of a good anchor?

Being non-pretentious is one quality. To me it should always be —what you see is what you get. My take on true anchoring is don’t unnecessary cry or smile; just be true to yourself.

Reality show anchors are too much into mockery and jokes. What is your take?

My point of view is that the hero of the show is the content. Like in this show the main hero is the DIY, everything else is peripheral. Don’t take the focus off it.

You acted in some great movies and then you went missing from the big screen. Why so?

I am quite grateful for all the work I have done. I have done all the big banner films. All the films and the roles were successful. There was a patch when the typecasting started and I chose to wait. In between, I also started writing and directing. I also have done a film called Tu Hai Mera Sunday which was well accepted.

Hip Hip Hooray is one show which people would like to watch again, maybe in a new avatar. What is your take?

Yes, I know. But nothing has been planned yet.

What is your idea of happiness?

Absolute peace of mind. Not reacting to everything you see because that also causes a lot of problems. And lastly, do stuff which gives you happiness.