Perky VJ turns thoughtful actor

It was his portrayal of Mazhar, an adorable school boy, in the 1999-television series Hip Hip Hurray, that made people notice the vivacious Purab Kohli. Then he turned a VJ for Channel V and soon graduated to cinema and did many meaningful roles in acclaimed films like My Brother Nikhil and Rock On. Now more than ten years later, the charming actor is extremely excited about Hip Hip Hurray being back on television. “I have been getting so many messages from people about the show,” he exclaims.

Hide and Seek will be Purab’s next release, where he will be sharing screen space with actors like Arjan Bajwa, Mrinalini, Amrita Patki and Ayaz Khan. “It’s a murder mystery, which revolves around six friends, and what drives them apart.” The actor has also been in the news for running a marathon in New Delhi for an NGO called Friendicoes, a shelter for stray animals. “There are two reasons why I took up this project — firstly, I enjoy running and secondly, it’s for a cause.”

So which amongst his roles does he find the most challenging — anchoring or acting? “Reality shows are the most challenging because there is so much of dramatisation,” says the actor, who was the host of a reality programme for cheerleaders called Knights and Angels. “During the shoot of that show, I saw how much their dream meant to the participants and I felt televising the same was like dramatising everything.”

In his free time, Purab loves travelling, his favourite destination being Lonavala. “Travelling was the main reason I joined Channel V even though I was still in college at that time,” he recalls. He loves watching movies as well. Does he have a dream role? “It’s very difficult to pinpoint a good performance. But when you want to be an actor, you fantasise yourself in the roles played by other actors,” he answers. But after a lot of thought, he says that his dream role would be the one played by Kamal Hassan in Sagar.

His own role of Nigel in My Brother Nikhil is very close to his heart. “The movie churned out an emotion in me. It’s one of the finest scripts I have read till date and the problem is that every script that I read now, I compare it to My Brother Nikhil,” laughs the actor. His negative role in the film Awarapan is also close to his heart.
Purab admits that he enjoys every minute of shooting. “When you are shooting for a film, you are on the sets from 9 am to 9 pm for 45 to 60 days. You get completely involved in the process so you can either hate it or make it fun. So it lies within yourself to make the best out of the situation,” he quips.