Be it warring saas-bahus or ichhadhari naagins, Ekta Kapoor’s production house Balaji Telefilms has been ruling the TV industry for over two decades. As viewing habits of audiences are evolving with streaming platforms, Kapoor too made her foray into the web with their online platform, ALTBalaji.
While some shows chose to tell unusual stories such as a homosexual love story (Romil & Jugal), the mystery surrounding the death of Subhash Chandra Bose (Bose: Dead/Alive) and the first woman officer-in-combat (The Test Case), one show which has played it safe is the Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar-starrer Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat.
With season 2 of the show currently streaming on ALTBalaji, Ram spoke about playing a character that is familiar and working with Kapoor and Tanwar once again after the hit TV show, Bade Acche Lagte Hain which ended in 2014. “It is very familiar territory. Sakshi and I are comfortable with each other since we’ve worked together extensively. It’s like being back home,” the actor shared.
Refuting the fear of being typecast in an industry that quickly labels actors, Kapoor confidently said, “Sakshi, Ekta and I were aware of what our fans wanted from us and it’s important to give it to them. This show is a great way of doing that. We are what we are because of our fans. I'm not worried about being typecast because I’m doing a lot of diverse work along with the show. A lot of different things are happening for me – a talk show, a film and web series.”
In Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, Kapoor plays Kunal Khanna, an alcoholic, arrogant and out-of-work star who meets his match in his de-addiction specialist, Dr Tripura Sundari Nagarajan (aka Tipsy) played by Tanwar. Their love-hate relationship is the focal point of season 1, which ends with him falling for her.
On writers of the show taking forward the existing story, Kapoor said, “I was more of an arrogant man who didn’t care about anyone except himself. At the end of season 1, my character went through the change of falling in love with someone completely unexpected. We will see a lot more of that romantic side in season 2. He’s still the same person but a man in love.”
Now that streaming platforms are competing with television, Kapoor is happy with the diversity and experimentation that is happening in India. “I’m aware of how fast the digital space is growing and the kind of diversity that is coming in. I’m very happy about it and this is the way it should be. It’s now going to completely take over TV.”
On the challenges that western TV shows pose to Indian ones, he signed off by saying, “A lot of risks are being taken by creators here as well but I don’t know whether they’re working or not. We have to keep taking risks to break new ground and create content that people watch and appreciate.”