New Delhi : Well-known TV and theatre actor Rajendra Gupta, who featured in the Limca Book of Records for doing maximum number of television serials, says most of the new faces on the small and big screen are attracted by glamour and it has an adverse effect on their career.
“Experience definitely counts. I would say that 50 percent of those who join showbiz today are attracted by the glamour part and they don’t stay for long. Time has proved that those who are experienced have more knowledge and that’s the reason they dominate the small screen,” Gupta said .
Among the new faces, he is impressed with Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor’s powerful performance in Imtiaz Ali’s just released musical romance “Rockstar”.
“I think among new faces Ranbir Kapoor is doing a marvellous job. I was amazed to see his performance in ‘Rockstar’. Though there were some glitches in the script of the movie, his honesty, dedication towards his character, and consistency were fantastic,” said the 55-year-old.
Rajendra, who portrayed Pandit Jagarnath in the 1990s fantasy costume drama “Chandrakanta”, has worked in over 40 shows. He was last seen on small screen as Mahavir Singh in “Ballika Vadhu” and says he follows his instincts while choosing roles.
“I follow my instincts and try to do something different from what I have done in last 35 years. Yes, I have to repeat certain roles to earn livelihood, but what I crave for is variety,” said Rajendra, who will next be seen in comedy show “Chidiyaghar”.
The show will be aired on SAB channel from Nov 28.
Apart from television, he also played character roles in movies like “Guru” as Abhishek Bachchan’s on-screen father, and his last was “Tanu Weds Manu”. He also did director Anwar Jawal’s small-budget movie “Swaraj”.
Asked about his take on movie promotion, he said: ” ‘Swaraj’ was not able to create a stir because of lack of money. Today, the whole game revolves around money and the cost of a film’s promotion is more than the film’s production budget, which a movie like ‘Swaraj’ is unable to afford.”
His next film is “Kashi Ka Assi”, which has Sunny Deol in the lead role. An adaptation of eminent Hindi writer Kashinath Singh’s book of the same name, the film is being helmed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi whose first film “Pinjar” was also based on Amrita Pritam’s bestseller.
“Half the movie will be shot in Mumbai, but the soul of the film lies in Benaras, which is the main backdrop of the plot. I am playing a lawyer based in Benaras,” said Rajendra.
The script has a lot of slang and the actor says, “I don’t think there is any kind of vulgarity in it. Whatever is shown on screen is the reality. It’s just that we talk about everything, but pretend to be cultured,” he said.
Besides, he is also working on “Maximum”, made by Kabeer Kaushik of “Seher” fame, and “Tanu Weds Manu” sequel.
IANS
