'Films have evolved, but television hasn't'

In the past, Apurva Agnihotri has openly admitted that today’s TV shows are “regressive” and “backward” for the kind of content they produce. He feels the blame for this substandard quality lies on the fact that people pay nominal fees to watch them, unlike films where people pay each time they watch a new movie.

“Films have evolved, but television hasn’t. And the biggest reason for this is that when people pay Rs 800 to watch a film they expect quality, unlike television which gives you
unlimited entertainment in limited fee,” Agnihotri tells Metrolife.

He had tried to break away from the saas-bahu drama by featuring in a show Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye, but it was withdrawn after six months. He feels one of the reasons why a new concept fails to click with viewers is because it takes some time for the drama to grow on them.  “You got to give it time to evolve. People have to get used to the new
offering,” he says.

Best known for his role as Armaan Suri in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, the 43-year-old actor has become a regular face on small screen again. He is participating in reality show Power Couple along with his wife, Shilpa Sakhlani and a show Saubhagyalakshmi
on &TV.

Even though he detests the idea of working in daily soaps, he candidly admits that “one can’t stop thinking that there is a kitchen back home which needs to run.”
“So you have to do what you get. But we have tried to keep the show simple and make it real,” he says.

“Unlike film actors we don’t have the liberty to choose the script, it is the script that chooses us,” he admits.

Agnihotri made his acting debut in film Pardes and has participated in Big Boss 7.  
Reality shows are his comfort zone because he says the format allows the participant to be themselves.

You can’t fake it on the camera. It catches you. So you have to be real. I prefer doing reality shows because you get a chance to show people who you really are,” he says.