Back on the telly!

Telly talk

There are many stars in the Indian television industry. But very few of them are superstars. Karan Singh Grover being an exception.

Like him or not, he is one of the few who has the aura of a superstar. After Ronit Roy, who is the uncrowned king of the Indian television industry, it won’t be an overstatement to say that Karan Singh Grover is the only person who wields the charm and popularity of a lady killer.

Broach the topic with him and he will immediately respond with a smile, “I am trying my best to get out of it! I am a married man now. My wife looks tiny but looks can be deceptive. So let us keep the ‘ladykiller’ tag hidden for the moment!”

Karan is back in the spotlight with his new show Qubool Hai on Zee after a long period of hibernation. What was he up to during this break? “It was a break from television, not from work. I took a break primarily to do a film named Glory. Produced by Sahara, this is a film based on paranormal activity. Diana Hayden is my co-star. Now that the film is complete, I am back to do shows.”

Isn’t Qubool Hai different from the ones he did earlier? What will happen to his carefully crafted lover-boy image? “There are two principal factors why I opted for this show — I wanted to break free from this image and the roles I did earlier and secondly, this was the only show that was dealing with a Muslim family. I felt both these factors would help me experiment with my acting abilities and be different from the rest.”

Karan goes on to talk about his role and the show, visibly excited at doing something different. “Unlike my earlier shows, this is not a youth show. It will be telecast on a more serious channel and the target audience is different. In fact, you will see me as a very disciplined person in this serial,” says Karan.

Qubool Hai is a different serial in many ways, including the language. There are a lot of Urdu dialogues in the serial. How is the dashing hero managing that? “I have a diction teacher who has worked really hard on me. So now, I can talk a bit. I have learned words like numaish and there is also one very important dialogue that’s completely in Urdu but every time I utter it, I start smiling!”

The discussion then moves to his personal life. His marriage to fellow actress Jenifer Winget did create a few ripples in the industry. But Karan made his marriage a low-key affair. “It was bigger than what I thought it would be. I just wanted to have a court marriage. But Jenifer wanted to have a small wedding with just a few close family members and friends attending.”

So, how has life changed after marriage? “I sleep and wake up on time. Alcohol consumption and social gatherings are limited. I get home-cooked food and I am leading a happy and healthy life!”