'Comedy runs in my blood,' says Hiten Paintal

What have been the landmark shows/films of your career?

Bachna Ae Haseeno, where I played Ranbir’s best friend Sachin. The other film was Rascals where I was with Sanjay Dutt sir and Ajay Devgn sir. Also my film Benny and Babloo with KK Menon and Rajpal Yadav.

You returned to television after 14 years. What was the reason for such a long break?

The break was not planned. While I was shooting for Kasautii Zindagi Kay, I got an offer for Bachna Ae Haseeno. The shoot went on for eight months and after that I got more film offers, so I continued. In 2016, I did my last film 39 Minutes. We have our own production house, so I got busy producing and directing projects.

How was your experience of doing a daily soap after long gap?

It was surprisingly amazing and it felt good to be back on TV because of the people I met. Every person on the sets was wonderful.

Muskurane Ki Wajah Tum Ho went off air abruptly. What was your reaction?

Yes, I returned to TV after such a long gap and the show went off air just after four months. The abrupt end was too shocking for all of us because the show was doing very well. We all were heartbroken. We feel we should have been given a chance to prove ourselves.

Talking about your journey in the industry, did you face any struggle?

Yes, I did. I struggled in getting the right kind of work. The problem is that when you do one role, people judge you based on that. They want to cast you in a similar role. But I wanted to break that mould.

Your father Kanwarjit Paintal and uncle Gufi Paintal are senior actors. Did you learn from them?

They taught me to work with absolute dedication. Work hard, be on time and give your best. Basically, be true to your work. These have been my learnings from my father and uncle.

You’ve done one web series. What difference do you find between OTT and television?

On television you are shooting on Monday for a Wednesday episode. On the other hand, OTT has a start-to-end shoot. TV shows generally don’t have an early end. It’s a continuous process that might go on for years.

What’s your favourite genre?

I love doing negative roles. And of course, comedy runs in my blood (laughs).