Dangling the carrot... againKaramchand is back but Pankaj Kapur is more apprehensive than excited...
Karamchand had a strong brand identity that you had managed to shake off. How do you feel revisiting it?
For me, it's just a job, something with which one has to experiment.
Are you excited about the re-play?
There is a certain level of excitment but also a lot of apprehension about how it will be received by the audience. Two decades ago, there was only one channel, Doordarshan, today there is a plethora of them.
Will Karamchand retain all his peculiar characteristics?
Of course he will continue to be a carrot-chewing detective. There are no major changes except for the fact that like me he will be older by 20 years.
You will have a new 'Kitty'...
Yes but it's not fair to compare Sushmita (Mukherjee) with the new girl (Sucheta Pavase). Sushmita is a trained and seasoned actress while Sucheta is a young talented girl. Both are different personalities.
How are you taking the serial forward?
Ideally, as an actor I would have liked them to give some explanation about what had happened to the detective, where he had disappeared for 20 years and why he has made a comeback. But that hasn't been addressed in the serial. The channel (Sony) and the director thought it better to bring it on as a fresh series.
You must remember that there is a whole section of viewers that is ignorant about the earlier Karamchand. This will be a new show for them.
What are your memories of the serial?
Before Karamchand happened, I was into theatre and films. This was my first television job in terms of a series. I knew nothing about the medium. I had to concentrate hard on developing my part and play the character, yet all of it was spontaneous. I enjoyed playing the character but the plot and shooting situations were quite tedious.
This time did you feel any difference?
I don't feel much of a difference. I have grown by 20 years and there are times when I feel there are loopholes in the script, much more today as a professional, but then I felt the same even 20 years ago. Finally, I have left it to the director.
How keen were you to play the role when the director approached you?
I confess I don't believe in re-runs. Creatively it doesn't offer anything new to those involved in the making. But I have a long-standing relationship with the director (Pankaj Parashar). In a way he was instrumental in making me popular. As I told you I was a stage actor and at that point it was important for me to get mass recognition and Karamchand made me a household name. Also, I haven't revisited any of my characters in the past and this will be an interesting experiment.
But you are doing Naya Office Office, a kind of a sequel to Office Office?
When Naya Office Office came to me I looked at the other choices in the medium and found nothing to my interest. Obviously, I cannot be a part of saas-bahu sagas. Naya ... was the only serial that was socially safe, culturally decent and giving insights into the functioning of a common man and his problems, with a sense of humour. The viewer can digest the goings-on because it doesn't make him morose and at the same time delivers the message - 'Life's like that'. Also, maybe they are made aware of certain problems that they didnot know existed.
Most actors complain of fatigue...
Definitely, fatigue has set in in a big way doing the same thing, but there are commitments that one has to fulfill.
You are known for your comedies on television...
That's something I love. I like to laugh at myself and make others laugh. I have done a lot of serials which aren't comedies like Neem Ka Ped, Lifeline and Kab Tak Pukaroon but the sitcoms stand out because in general, humour sells.
What is your take on the comedies aired these days?
Well, each to his own. But I defintely expect a better sense of humour. However, the concept is skewed. Vulgarity takes top precedence. Humour, actually, lies in real-life situations.
Which of your films are you looking forward to, this year?
There is Blue Umbrella, where you know, I play a small shopkeeper, Dharm in which I am a pandit, Halla Bol where I am a theatre activist and Good Sharma where I am some kind of a landlord. I guess all these films will release this year.
Are you happy with the way your son Shahid Kapoor is going about his career?
Yes, I am happy with the way he's been placed in the industry. He's assured of bigger things not just in terms of stardom but as an actor too. He won't be looked upon as a loverboy which will be his main triumph. Right now, he is choosy, which is a sensible way to go about because you need to have better choice of characters to portray.
Any favourites from his films?
I liked him in Vivah. The character hardly had anything to offer. It was the way Shahid developed it with subtle nuances that gave life to the character. I also loved his performance in Fida but I think the climax was all wrong.
http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=14864
Edited by Manoj_Tina fan - 17 years ago
The director informs that characters of the protagonists and the feel of the story will more or less remain the same. But how different will the series be technically? Answers Parashar, "The sound and picture quality will, of course, be in keeping with today's times. We used sync sound then, and are going to use sync sound now as well. We've kept the same music composed by Anand-Milind. What has changed, of course, is that a kilo of carrot cost Rs 2 then, and costs Rs 12 now." 
Incidentally the credit of recreating the serial ought to go to Parashar's children who kept asking him about Karamchand. "Whenever someone one would talk of the serial, my children would want to know more about it. That's when I thought, 'why not?' I spoke to Kapur and he seemed enthusiastic as well. That's how the thought of bringing back Karamchand took ground."
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