A golden debut

He ruled many hearts as the dashing Robby from Kasturi. But ever since the show went off air, Karan Patel was not to be seen anywhere. But the truth is, he was getting all set to make his big Bollywood debut in Mahesh Manjrekar’s City of Gold.

For him it is a dream debut. After all, he got to work with the maker of films like Vaastav and Astitva and with City of Gold, Mahesh is going to make his big comeback as a director. The transition, on the other hand, was a simple one he says. “There weren’t many problems as there is not much of a difference. If Shah Rukh Khan can do it so easily, so could I,” he states.

In the movie, Karan plays a cotton mill worker’s son, whose family experiences  many hardships as a result of the mill strike of 1982. “Mahesh first told me about this film on the sets of a reality show and within five minutes, I wanted to do this film. There was not a shred of doubt or apprehension about the subject,” says Karan.

But things were not easy as Karan had to prepare a lot for the role and even do his bit of research to get into the character. “With the movie being based on a real-life incident, I had to read about the situation to really get into the depth of the character. That’s where Mahesh helped me out a lot,” he adds.

Mahesh, he says, is a tough taskmaster and a perfectionist. “He does not let one rest till he has got exactly what he wanted. I guess that’s what makes the film so edgy and realistic. Through him, I have learnt so many things about film-making,” he adds.

With the film already being released in Marathi, Karan says he has received a good feedback. “The movie has really touched the people and the positive feedback has only given us all the more confidence and hope for the Hindi release,” he says.

While other offers are on the table, Karan feels all his concentration right now is towards promoting City of Gold. But does that mean he has quit television altogether?

 “Television takes up a lot of time and energy. I haven’t completely quit television but if and when I do get time, I will surely come back to it,” he signs off.