I will have the last laugh Amarr Upadhyay

TV pundits had written his obituary but Amarr Upadhyay, the original Mihir of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, is no mood to rest in peace. “I’m Amarr (immortal) there’s no way that I can perish,” chides the actor. There’s a new found vigour in his voice and the actor is oozing confidence. With a slew of films in his pocket, Amarr has every reason to rejoice. The actor will soon be matching shoulders with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham and Boman Irani. His admirers will get to see him briefly on television too in Zee TV’s upcoming show Maa. After quitting Kyunki,,, Amarr set his sights on Bollywood. While he did get a break, his films failed miserably and soon the actor faded away from most memories. He returned to television with Viraasat but the show didn’t last long. Since then, he’s kept a low profile which made the critics write his obituary. Amar though is now out to prove his detractors wrong. In an exclusive chat with Tellychakkar, the actor talks about the ups and downs of his career, his equation with Ekta Kapoor and more. Read on. So, you seem to have finally got your big ticket to Bollywood. I don’t know about that but I’m happy to be doing good films. I’ve got 4-5 films in my hand. Prominent among them is director Anees Bazmee’s next film, ‘It’s my life’. It has Harman Baweja in the lead, while I play the parallel lead. The other films that I have are 13 B with Madhavan, Mehul Kumar’s Char fool, Chaar Maali with Riteish Deshmukh and Akshay Khanna. Anees Bazmee has already cast me in his next film that will star Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham and Boman Irani. This film will be shot in Canada and the shooting will commence next year. Will you also be doing a television show for Zee? Well, I haven’t signed on the dotted line yet. If it were to happen then it would not be for more than a month. Zee TV and the producers of Maa, were keen on having a big star to launch their show. I’ve made it clear to them that there’s no way that I can commit more than a month. My priority has always been films. Television was just a stepping stone to films. But isn’t it television that has made you a household name? I never had any godfather in the industry. My father was a banker thus actors like me have found their own way to get into this industry. Television provided me that but my priority has always been films. While I was doing Kyunki.., everyone hailed me as the Amitabh Bachchan of television and what not. However not for one moment did I let this go to my head. Honestly speaking, I only did Kyunki.. because I had to feed my family. I remember the time when most TV producers rejected me saying that I’m too skinny. After Kyunki, they were coming up to me with blank cheque books. While you were not keen on television all your films bombed. Did Bollywood forget you then? No it isn’t that. Despite the failures of my films, producers were still keen on casting me in their films. However, I soon realised that rather than doing ten more bad films, I’ll be better off sitting at home. The industry today is going through a good phase and it is the right time for actors like me to make a mark. Right. The likes of Rajeev Khandelwal and now Prachi Desai have shown the way to other TV actors. Well, Aamir was a wonderfully written script and thus any decent actor would have been able to do it. I’d like to remind everyone that before Rajeev, it was me who broke the jinx for television actors. Where does an Amarr Upadhyay see himself in the utterly competitive world of Bollywood? I can never be in the league of a Shah Rukh, Aamir, Akshay or Salman. And I’ve never aspired to be one of them. I know exactly where I stand and what my achievable goals are. Two years down the line, I’ll be happy if I fall somewhere between a Riteish Deshmukh and a John Abraham. Coming back to television, your last show Viraasat seemed to be doing pretty well, but strangely it had a very premature end. We had to make way for Kaun Banega Crorepati 3. Before our show was switched to Star One, we were still drawing an average TRP of 6. KBC 3 could never go beyond that. The switch to Star One went against our show. We weren’t generating the desired TRPs ratings. As it always happens in television, lower the TRPs and you’re show is scrapped. Apart from keeping a low profile, you also eluded the media. Why is that? That’s because, I was regularly misquoted. There came a time when I decided its better that I don’t talk to anyone. And, when I did that people wrote that Amar Upadhyay is finished. There were reports on you having had a bitter fallout with your mentor Ekta Kapoor. How true were these? There was never any problem between Ekta and me. In fact, she invited me to her birthday party this year but I couldn’t go as I was busy shooting. Before leaving Kyunki.., I conveyed my decision well in advance to Shobhaji (Kapoor). I couldn’t speak to Ekta as she was out of the country. However, I did inform her later and she never had any qualms with it. As a matter of fact right from day one, Ekta was aware that my goal was films. Besides I didn’t want to play a buddah (old man) Our equation soured a bit when a prominent Mumbai tabloid wrote a false report about me speaking against Ekta. Apparently, this paper continued to write false stories and there came a time when Ekta started to believe in them. One day I got a call from her secretary who told me that Ekta is upset that I’m hitting out publicly against her. That’s when I decided to stop speaking to the media. What’s happening with Amarr, the producer? I’m soon to launch a detective show for DD-1. It will be called Red File and will have Sudesh Berry playing the lead. The pilot is ready and the show is likely to come on air after Diwali. You celebrated your birthday on 1 August. Has this birthday brought all the luck for you? Well, I couldn’t agree with you more. As a matter of fact, you wouldn’t believe that few years ago, when I was a little depressed, my friend asked me to visit Kashi Vishwanath temple in Banaras. There I met an astrologer who told me that I will enjoy the best period of my life when I turn 32. I shrugged it off then but its holding true now. I’m fitter than ever before, I’m sporting four pack abs. I feel completely refreshed. My patience has paid off. I’m out to prove all those wrong who had written me off and who laughed at me. However, it will be me who will have the last laugh. I’m Amar (immortal) there’s no way that I can perish.