'Acting is all I know'

Confident talk

The sound of ‘lights’, ‘camera’, ‘action’ excites him no end. Cute boy Prem of Kasauti Zindagi Ki has grown into a strapping young man looking to make a career in Bollywood.

In the 10-year interregnum, Karanvir Bohra essayed a complicated role as Kabir in Just Mohabbat. After a short role in Kismat Konnection, Karanvir says he doesn’t believe that acting has anything to do with genes and only sheer hardwork and dedication will make one popular. He is now making his full-fledged debut in Bollywood movie Chemistry. “I thought this film was a perfect launch pad. I play a real character where I don’t really have to act. That’s the beauty of the role and that’s the only way you can make a role believable,” Karanvir told Metrolife.

Karanvir has done theatre and won critical acclaim in television soaps such as Kkusum, Shararat, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. He says he’s not only a director’s actor who lets himself get moulded into any role but is also a producer’s actor who makes sure the maker rakes in the moolah.

“To know that every character you have done is appreciated and remembered is great. I’ve grown and matured as an actor and now I intend to do substantial roles,” he says.

Karanvir thinks it is natural for any television actor to switch to the big screen after a while. He says people think TV actors don’t make it big in the film industry, “I would really like to break that mindset. I believe a good actor is accepted in any medium whether on stage, TV or films,” he avers. Talking about the prime difference between TV and films, “in films, we get a lot of time to shoot a particular scene which makes the scene truly special but in TV we shoot seven to eight scenes a day and the performance is compromised,” he observes.

Karanvir recalls that he faced camera when he was barely seven-year-old in Teja. “I remember I was so nervous and wondered how actors carry it off before the camera…then Just Mohabbat came giving me my first big break and from then on there was no looking back,” he says.

Karanvir has dabbled in theatre as well. In his first theatre production, Plain Crazy About Love he was cast opposite actress Helen. He played a pilot who dates three airhostesses.

“It’s a different medium altogether. There’s a lot of thought and analysis that goes into each of my roles. But today, you put me in just about any medium and I can pull it off because acting is all I know. I can’t be a banker or even a driver,” he laughs.

And cinema excites Karanvir just the same, “As a child, I used to tag along with my father
and grandfather to the shooting locations. I grew up listening to the sound of ‘camera’, ‘lights’ and ‘action’. I love the smell of make up, it’s like putting on a mask and the world sees a different you,” he says.

About the competition he may have to face as a newcomer, Karanvir says, “I always wanted to get to a level where I can compete. It’s the courage and determination to make it to the top that makes you fight,” he says.

Mention Bangalore and Karanvir won’t give you a chance to talk. “I got married in Bangalore. I saw my first Harry Potter movie there. I come to the City to hang out with friends on M G Road…my memories of Bangalore are endless,” he wraps up.