MUMBAI: Television star Karan Kundra says the pandemic has forced the Hindi television industry to provide better and varied programming to keep their devoted viewer base.
The actor, known for his shows such as 'Kitani Mohabbat Hai', 'Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum', 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai', 'Bigg Boss', believes viewers now want better storyline in their favourite shows.
"Things have really changed a lot because during COVID-19 there was no new content on TV, except for news. That time, a lot of people, who were watching TV, were forced to go to OTT for fresh content and they are now back and are demanding that kind of work, hence a show like 'Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal' is happening," the actor told PTI in an interview.
Kundra, a hugely successful actor on television, said he is focused on doing quality projects after his stint in "Bigg Boss 15".
"After 'Bigg Boss', it is not that I didn't get offers for other things, but I stuck to things that interested me. All the people who had worked with me, they were like, this has sparked a new madness around me and we should convert it. I was sure I didn't want to do run-of-the-mill stuff because we know that it will be a hit. I want to be part of an interesting script that formalises my position. Just because I am popular right now, that it will work, I don't want to do that," he added.
The actor said he narrowed his choice down to "Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal", which premiered on February 13 on Colors TV. It is Kundra's first big-budget mainstream outing on the small screen.
"After my first TV show 'Kitani Mohabbat Hai', I chose a crime show, 'Gumrah' because it excited me. Then, I chose to do things on MTV, Punjabi films, reality shows. After 'Bigg Boss' and 'Dance Deewane Junior', I was waiting for the right kind of stuff that excites me. I have never done a massive big budget show like 'Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal'. This is mainstream television but not a typical daily soap drama, it is fantasy, romance, and everything. It is pretty exciting."
The show is a compelling story of a girl next door Eisha (Reem Sameer Shaikh) and werewolf brothers Armaan (Gashmeer Mahajani) and Veer (Kundra) who test the dangerous limits of love and survival.
Speaking about his character, Veer, the 38-year-old actor described him as unapologetic, intense and ruthless. Of all the formats that he has acted in, Kundra said, fiction TV shows satisfy him the most as an artist. "It (fiction) is something on which I have to work hard, it challenges you. While in non-fiction, I have to be myself, and I am good at that," he said.
Ask him about the constant focus being on his personal life and his equation with actor Tejasswi Prakash, who he has been dating since 'Bigg Boss 15', Kundra called it a part and parcel of the industry. "I have been vocal about good or bad, everything. I am not one or two years into my career that I should worry about all these things. At this stage, if somebody wants me for a big project, they will take me in for the brand that I am (and not because of my personal life)."
He asserts that a lot has changed in terms of content over the years and that viewers now want greater storylines particularly from television actors.
Kundra has also featured in films like 'Mubarakan', and '1921', and has worked on OTT shows like 'Dating Aaj Kal', and 'Lock Upp'.