A restaurateur, if not an actor: Karan Tacker

Well-known TV actor Karan Tacker had his big break in the industry with Star Plus’s ‘Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai’. He has also been a part of reality shows including ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7’, ‘The Voice’ and ‘The Remix’.

Karan was recently in the city to take part in ‘Float-A-Thon’, a midnight run hosted by Reebok. Metrolife had a candid chat with the actor about his career, fans and more.

Excerpts from the interview:

You have a degree in business management. How did acting happen to you?

I was always fascinated by acting. I have been a film buff from a very young age. I love the 90s; I grew up to watching Govinda, Akshay Kumar etc. I did venture into business, but it failed. That’s when I got the opportunity to explore something else and acting happened; it isn’t the ideal way to find something, but it is the best decision I have made in my life.

You have a lot of fan following. How do you handle the attention?

I absolutely love it. I look forward to meeting my fans. I love having an audience, it adds to what I am doing.

Once, I put up a picture from the flight I was travelling, and a fan, who figured out which flight it is, came to the airport to greet me with a bouquet of flowers. I love experiences like that; it is genuinely overwhelming.

If not an actor, what would you have become?

I am passionate about food, so probably, a restaurateur.

We last saw you in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’. Any plans to work in Bollywood movies?

Yes, 100 per cent. I would be lying if I say I don’t want to do a Bollywood film. I love the process -- donning different characters for different films; it is not like television where you are stuck with one character. As soon as I find something that interests me, I will do it.

What are your thoughts on the audience’s transition from TV to digital space?

The OTT platforms have taken over and everybody is talking about it. Having said that, I believe OTT, TV and movies run parallelly because they have absolutely different demography. The people that watch TV don’t necessarily watch films. TV is always going to be the king of the masses because of its reach.

Most TV serials are ridiculed for its content...

Everybody is entitled to have an opinion. But what I want people to understand is that we are catering to an audience who want to watch it. The TRP rate is high for TV shows, film actors do TV shows to increase their reach, and that kind of answers the question.

What’s in the pipeline?

Currently, I am looking for content that suits my sensibilities.