I can never be like Purab in my real life - Arjit Taneja

Arjit Taneja moved from Delhi to Mumbai at the tender age of 19, on the lookout for interesting career prospects. After being seen on TV for the first time in Channel V’s The Serial, the young lad bagged the plump offer of playing Purab in Balaji Telefilms’ Kumkum Bhagya for Zee TV. Well, after a fruitful journey of nearly six months, the actor feels he has achieved a lot and has gotten better as an actor. Expressing his pleasure of being part of the popular show, Arjit tells us, “My Kumkum Bhagya journey has been amazing, with my character having seen a lot of ups and downs. My character started on a very different note, wherein he was the happy-go-lucky guy, and now you can only see him crying. So it is really cool to play so many different shades. Of course, it gives me a new high to be associated with the #1 show. And it is fun to work with actors like Shabbir Ahluwalia, Shikha Singh, Sriti Jha, Mrunal Thakur etc.” Ask him about the major plus point of the show, and he says, “Ekta Kapoor shows will always click as she has the power to do the right stuff. Also, if you look at Shabbir in the show, he has a very good connect with the audience. Everything about him is so very good. When I sit at home watching the episodes, I fall in love with Shabbir’s character instantaneously. Also, the show had to run as there are only positive vibes on our set.” Arjit has seen a remarkable improvement in himself as an actor. “I was pretty new when I got the role of Kumkum Bhagya. I had shot for one month for Vikas Gupta’s The Serial, and that’s the experience I had. However, my director and co-actors in Kumkum Bhagya gave me tremendous support. Everyday has been a learning curve for me, and now I have reached a phase wherein I know what I need to do as Purab. I have started improvising on my lines, and am settled in the character. As for the graph of the character, Purab earlier shared a great equation with Abhi. He was his manager and confidante. Later, Bulbul came into the office and they had all the nok-jhok possible. I would say Purab has matured with time, but I can never be Purab in my personal life.” Arjit is excited because his character is a typical ‘lady’s’ boy. “I have got every girl in the show till now (laughs). Aaliya wants me, while Abhi felt I am in love with Pragya and the guy is in love with Bulbul. Only Tanu needs to be taken now (smiles). And I need to tell you, working with all these ladies has been fantastic. Sriti has been very nice, supportive and is an amazing actor. She is probably the best in TV today.” Ask him about the one actor he looks up to, and pat comes the answer. “It has to be Shabbir Ahluwalia. He is too good; the way he improvises his scenes are remarkable. His one liners in the show are always impromptu and I just love the way he performs. Off the screen, he is a typical rockstar. I would say he is tailor-made for the role. He is chilled out, makes everyone around him comfortable. He keeps everyone in a jovial mood with his conversations. If you see, his chemistry with every character in the shows comes out good. This is only possible when you have a great rapport with your co-stars and Shabbir manages to do that.” Here, Arjit lets out a fact, basically a destiny’s play. “I was just 19 years old when I came from Delhi to Mumbai. I was auditioning for everything, when I got a call for an audition for Pavitra Rishta for a post leap character. However, when I went there, I ended up auditioning for their upcoming show, Kumkum Bhagya too. So you can say I was destined to get this role.” Ask him about his long-term goals and he gives us a clear thought. “Films, all the way. I am now 21 years old, and have a lot of time. I wanted to do TV to get the mode of acting. Yes, TV has a huge audience, but I definitely want to do films. That’s my goal and I am working towards it.” Arjit, we wish you all the luck!!