Actor Nishant Malkani is 31 and portrays the role of a father to three grown up men on TV show Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega. With no grey hair in sight, the actor is seen as the husband of 20-year-old Guddan who owns the title of India’s youngest mother-in-law. In an exclusive interview with HT, Nishant threw light on what makes the show stand out from others, why it’s tough to work in the television industry and more. Excerpts:

Tell us more about the show Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega.

The story is about a man and a woman who meet accidently and go on to tie the knot. Both of them are poles apart. While the woman is around 20 years old, the man is in his mid-thirties. The woman is very innocent and even though she has good intentions, she ends up screwing everything. On the other hand, this man is very mature but is still in love with his first wife. They get married accidently due to unexpected circumstances. This man is the adopted son of the family and ends up being a father to three sons and a father-in-law to their wives. So when he marries Guddan, she ends up becoming their mother-in-law as well (as told in the show’s tagline – Guddan India ki youngest saas hain).

Nishant Malkani plays Akshat Jindal or AJ on Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega.

You play a father to three grown up men in the show. Were you not apprehensive about playing such a role?

Initially, I was apprehensive but the makers convinced me about the theme of the show. They were not going to give me grey hair or make me look older. They told me how a lot of twists and turns were going to come in the story and that I was not their real father. What’s interesting about this character was that while he is an angry young man in front of everyone, he was a very chilled out and loud person in the company of his former wife. This is a man who will show his anger even when he is in a romantic mood.

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Taking a time leap is a common trend on Indian TV shows. If the makers take a time leap of 20 years, will you be ready to play a 50-60 year old on screen?

I will be apprehensive but it completely depends on why and how they will justify the time leap. If I find it interesting, I will do it and if I won’t, I will step back.

How do you bond with your team?

We have a very good team, all of us are very good friends. We have a house party at one of the people’s houses on an off day. We bond like college friends when not working.

Nishant Malkani says that as an actor, there is a lot of scope for anyone to grow.

You have also done a few films.

My last film was Bezubaan Ishq in 2016. I do have plans to do films but I am committed for 25 days in a month for this show. As long as I am shooting for this one, I won’t be able to take out time for other things. But after that, I will pick up whatever interesting comes my way. It can be anything – a film, a web series or another TV show. Right now, all three platforms are doing so well that as an actor, there is a lot of scope for anyone to grow.

What is the major difference between the television industry and Bollywood?

In films, you have a bound script, you know the entire graph of the character and his journey from end to finish. In a television show, everything changes every week. The TRPs decide what works and what doesn’t work and what we are going to do with the story. If the character is not working, we change the character, if not the actor. As an actor, one has to be very flexible to adapt all the time. If the show goes on for a year, you have to come on the screen everyday but yet do something different to keep the audience hooked. I believe shooting a film is much easier than a TV show.

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First Published: Feb 25, 2019 17:56 IST