'I can never get bored of the IPL'

Sportive Side

Samir Kochhar has come a long way since his days of anchoring India’s first television chat show on sex — ‘Dangerous’. He’s been presenting the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches for the last five seasons, handling his film career and even had a brief stint with serials. Samir says that each and every one of these has been a different experience for him.

In the City for one of the matches, Samir says that each time he goes on to the field to face the camera, he feels completely at home. “One gets an interesting high while presenting live cricket. I have always been an aspiring actor and a sports enthusiast and even played football when I was younger. So, sports has always had a special place in my heart,” says Samir. Maybe that’s why Samir finds it easy to translate that passion in front of the camera as well.

He has got over his jitters and feels more confident with each passing year. “I think I can never get bored of the IPL. Each year is so different and keeps getting more entertaining,” he adds. 

As for his acting career, Samir finally debuted in serials with Bade Ache Lagte Hain after 12 long years. Playing Rajath Sir in the serial, Samir says that though his character was on the show for just six months, the experience changed his life altogether. “I have been saying no to serials for the longest time. In fact, I never even knew about this show till I was approached. I still remember the same evening I was offered the role, I went home and told my mother and grandmother about it. They were literally jumping on the sofa, saying that I had to take it up. Since it was a small role, I felt I would give it a try and the rest, as they say, is history,” he laughs.

Samir also observes that a lot has changed in Indian television over the last decade. “You don’t find your typical saas-bahu kind of stuff. Serials these days are more real and the characters actually become a part of every family that watches them day in and day out,” he adds. The last time one saw Samir on the big screen was in the Karisma Kapoor-comeback

Dangerous Ishhq. But Samir says that he has been very selective when it comes to movies. “I always get roles of a rich man or a police officer. I really don’t know why. But I have signed a cross-over film, which I can’t really talk about right now,” he adds. No doubt, Samir has many memories of Bangalore. But ask him about his fondest one and pat comes the reply, “It has to be the match when Chris Gayle scored his record 175 runs. Watching the match live in the stadium was just something else.”