After testing the waters from the sidelines, Rajniesh Duggall is all set to take the plunge into the world of television. The actor, who was last seen as Lord Krishna in Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran, a finite series of 52 episodes wrapped up in May 2020, will soon make his daily soap debut with Sanjog. The mature family drama features Kamya Panjabi and Shefali Sharma. Rajniesh will be seen opposite Shefali in the show.
Talking about his debut in the fiction genre on TV, Rajniesh says, “So far, I have been part of fantasy and mythological finite series. I realised that if I am exploring TV, I ought to do a daily soap… a family drama through which I can reach a wider audience. In Sanjog, I play a good husband and a doting father. Being a father in real life, I could relate to this character even more. Also, the basic emotion of the show is so beautiful that I had to be a part of it. Despite being a family drama, it’s a progressive story and something that even the OTT audience would love to watch.”
The actor has no apprehensions about playing a father in his first daily soap. He says, “I don’t have any such qualms. Also, my character won’t be shown a father straightaway. I will get to experiment with my looks and scope to perform. I don’t think actors get typecast anymore. Pehle hota tha ki aap TV karte ho toh films nahi kar sakte par ab waisa nahi hai.”
Though Rajniesh had been approached for daily soaps earlier, too, it seemed like a perfect time to take up a long commitment. He says, “I couldn’t manage my dates earlier but for this, I had to make minor adjustments. I also felt it’s better to do a great show on television than mediocre work on another medium. Also, why should I restrict myself to any medium? I receive a lot of messages asking me ki TV par wapas kab aa rahe ho. I just completed the shoot of a web show and had the time to devote to a daily soap. Ek-do parallel cheezein chal rahi thi but this turned out to be the best offer. It came at such a time that I decided to embrace it.”
He adds, “I am preparing myself for long commitments (smiles). I take Sudhanshu (Pandey) bhai as an example. He is doing a popular show (Anupamaa) on TV. I have always intended to break these barriers and stereotypes ki film karte ho toh TV nahi kar sakte. Even when I participated in Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 5 (2014), the idea was that the medium shouldn’t matter. Acting toh same hi rahegi na, woh thodi badal jaayegi… sirf kirdaar badalte hain ya shooting ka routine.”
