A scripted realityFriday, 10 April 2015 | Neeti Nigam
Rajeev Khandelwal doesn’t mind switching between television and movies. He tells Neeti Nigam that he owes a lot to the idiot box
While Bollywood stars are always careful about their ‘big screen’ image, Rajeev Khandelwal has no apprehensions in switching between films and television. It’s the content that rules his choices. “I have never left Bollywood or television. I choose projects keeping its quality in mind. So films and serials will keep happening for me,” says the actor as he returns to idiot box with Sony’sReporters after a gap of three years.
The show captures life and work of Kabir Sharma, a shrewd business-minded journalist played by Rajeev and his love interest, played by Kritika Kamra. “I was waiting for quality work and the moment this came on board, I jumped on it,” says Rajeev who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sujal in Kahiin Toh Hoga and Rajveer in Left Right Left on television.
Rajeev is excited to play the role of a journalist. He says, “I have always been grilled for whatever choices I have made. But this time, I am on the other side of the game. Playing the role of a journalist is not easy, but I am not nervous because I have full faith in the research team of the show. Director Goldie himself is a news buff and has come up with a good concept.”
Ask about his research for the character, he tells you, “I have been observing a lot of anchors, even before working on this show. I remember while hosting reality show Sach Ka Saamna, I got to know the technical side of anchoring. On the sets of Reporters, I learnt how anchors are connected to PCRs (production control room), how at the last second they have to convey the message and so on.” With this show, his perception about media has also changed.
“A journalist has to be good at multitasking. If you weave their personal life into it, it gets tough. Especially for married women, who have to balance between personal and professional life,” he says, adding “Every anchor has its own style and it reflects when they anchor the show. But I have tried not to copy any of them. I wanted to have a Kabir style.”
Kritika Kamra, who plays a younger scribe adds, “We are not playing any biopic. So we did it in our way. What we have learnt is the technical aspect like on-field reporting and anchoring.”
Meanwhile, Kritika said that she has turned choosy about her shows and pick them carefully. “I always try to do unique kind of shows. I’ve not done any kitchen drama because I too don’t like it. But Reporters is different from my previous works. Journalism is a challenging job where you have to be on-field and bring unbiased stories,” she says.
The promo of the show has proved a hit online with over one-million views on YouTube. In one of the trailers, Rajeev is forcibly kissing Kritika. “We were not apprehensive about the kissing scene. The promo tells a whole lot of things. Kritika and I were completely chilled out while shooting it. The context was what we wanted to put across to the viewers,” said Rajeev.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/vivacity/a-scripted-reality.html
