Exclusive: In conversation with Ssharad Malhotra

Chocolate Boy Ssharad Malhotra is back with a bang on television with Colors' Kasam Tere Pyar Ki. He sits down with Tellybuzz and chats about his show and much more.

With expectations being high from this show as well as Ssharad, we got the actor for a candid chat and here's what he has to say. 

This is your first sane love story  (Sane I am saying because you played a mentally challenged boy in Dulhan.)

I am still mentally retarded. You got to be retarded to do the roles that I do on-screen. In the first show I played a kid, in the second one I played a warrior and in the third I play a man who does not believe in love. So yeah! I am totally retarded.

But you are that way because your partner dies. Right or is it one of the shades of the character that you play?

I honestly don't know that, so you will have to watch the show. The promo says that something happens to my partner in an accident but before that you see a very happy go lucky guy. They are dancing on the beach with balloons, they are having a good time and laughing. You know they are so much in love. After that they show that something happens to my partner. And then you see a very serious and matured guy enter the screen. So that's a lovely contrast. And that is why people are wondering whether it is Lamhe, is it Karz or is it Chandini? And I am tired of answering that question. You have to watch it.

What was the main reason to take up this show?

Creatively, it sounded very good to me. It is going to be my comeback after 7 years. So I obviously wanted to do something very interesting in fiction and not the regular run of the mill kinda stuff where I am just standing behind a woman and crying. So I definitely wanted to do something which was challenging and where my character will have a lot of shades which you will see gradually. It'll shock the audience a lot which I can't say right now. All I can say for now is what you see now is not how it actually is.

In one of the promos you say to your partner that, "Mere khwaab aasman chute hai." Is that a hint at how ambitious your character is?

No, I will not become a pilot or something(laughs). Its just that like everyone else, I have high ambitions and very big dreams. I want to fulfill them. Now what happens in that course of action is what I can't tell you. I want to, but I cant tell you guys.

How different is Ssharad in real life?

I will not say that I am a sucker for love. I believe in love a lot. Definitely, love is a very strong emotion. It's a universal emotion. But Rishi is a character that does not believe in love. That is a challenge for me. He is a guy who is just into women, but he is not a kamina. He is a fun loving, nice Punjabi munda who is US Return. And you know how Punjabis are, full of life. He loves to date women, is very flirtatious. He boxes to impress women (he is a boxer). He is a very chilled out guy, and does not believe in love. And then when he falls in love, what happens to him, when he falls out of love what happens to him and again when he falls in love what happens to him, is the whole story. There are different shades to my character and that is what is interesting.

So was it the character shade that made you take up this show?

The different shades of the character, Yes, and Ekta. She is very strong in content. She is very intelligent. She knows what the audience wants. She knows the pulse of the people. Balaji hai and then you have the creative team of Colors. I am working for the first time with Balaji and it's a great experience. I remember my first look test when I came to Mumbai 10 years ago was with Balaji. It was like a nightmare for me. I had promised I will never work with them. And after 10 years, here I am and it has been a very very very great experience for me.

What did you do after Maharana Pratap?

I was chilling yaar. I was travelling a lot. Suddenly, I got to know that this show is coming up and Ekta and Colors are teaming up for a very interesting show, a hard and intense love story, a very serious matured love story. Toh maine kaha wow yaar, sounds good because it had been a long time since such a story came up on TV.

What expectations do you have from this show?

People know that for every character that I have played I've given a lot to it. So obviously people expect more from this show as well. I do not want to let down my fans as they have great expectations from me. They have waited for me for 4 years before I did Maharana Pratap. Luckily here, after 4 weeks, I decided to do a show.

Ssharad, 3 major shows with major channels. Do you take into consideration the channel before taking up any show?

No yaar. Not a conscious decision. I'm very choosy about my characters. They should be very interesting. It is not that the channel does not matter. It is very important but first it is the character. Because obviously if I will be able to perform the character well, it will not make any sense if people do not view the channel. Colors is doing very well right now. It is one of the top most channels.

So now that you have joined the Colors family and since Colors is well-known for reality shows, have you given any thought to reality shows?

That I don't know yaar. First let me get sorted with my current show. Its is going on-air on the 7^th of March. I do not have any wish list. I only wish that you guys watch this show. And here is lot of love coming up. Please don't get love sick. Get lovesick in a nice way

Lastly, any message to India-Forums?

I have known you guys for 10 years. It has been a very long association. India Forums has really supported us. You guys also work hard and even we will be working very hard. We will stay in touch. 

Here's wishing Ssharad Malhotra all the very best for Kasam Tere Pyar Ki.