Yesterday it was me; today it’s someone else :Varun Badola

It’s the youth who has taken the television world by storm. But that doesn’t mean the veterans have walked into the sunset. The good ones always keep coming back. Seasoned actor Varun Badola is one such good actor. After a year long hiatus, the actor makes a comeback with a weekly sitcom Sonu te Sweety on SAB. For those who came in late, Sonu te Sweety had earlier aired on DD. In an exclusive chat with TellyChakkar, Badola talks about his return to TV, why he took a break, his passion for singing, television trends and more. Read on. The last time when we spoke you said it was important that your visibility doesn’t shrink. Is that why you’ve taken up Sonu te Sweety? No, it’s not like that. This show (Sonu te Sweety) has aired before on DD and did quite well. It was among DD’s top shows then. So, we thought why not recreate the magic now that we’re given a second chance. But history shows that such second attempts haven’t been that successful. That’s true but that happens when you’ve already reached a conclusion not when the story is half told. Despite its success on DD, the show ended prematurely. I reckon we still had about 100 episodes remaining when the show went off air. So a lot of it remained untold. Besides, both DD and SAB have their different audiences. So, will the story resume from it left? What different will we get to see this time? No, we’re starting from scratch. And, no there won’t be anything different. It’s the story of a husband and wife. What different can you add to it? Tinkering with characters/storyline will only prove detrimental to the show. Are you confident that this show will work? I’m confident about my performance. Audience oont (camel) ki tara hai, jidhar karvat li, wahi baithjaye. So, don’t you worry about results anymore? The Varun that the world knows is one who puts his heart and soul in whatever he did. I’ve done it too many times. Besides, involving yourself too much can be strenuous. I’ve had my experiences. Besides, there comes a time in your life when you just act and come home. You can’t meddle in each and every thing. You were pretty upset with the way Aek chabi hai padoss mein was pulled off air. Apparently, rumour had it that the sets were brought down. No, the sets weren’t brought down. They remained intact even two months after the show went off air. That’s because we were told that the show would return after a break but we knew that was never going to happen. Apparently, the channel found the show to be very slow. Unfortunately, Indian television par abhi bhi woh waqt nahin aaya jab 50 rupaye ki problem ko problem samjha jaata hai. Though, in real life most of us still struggle for those 50 rupees. Now, why do our channels don’t want to show this, I have no idea. In our last conversation, you’d requested to talk on anything but acting. Were you bogged down by what was happening around you? No, it’s not that I didn’t want to act at all, it’s just that I felt I’d done a lot of work. During the final days of Koshish, I started writing dialogues. This continued with Astitva and I was writing, directing and acting in Aek Chabhi.. That was as good as doing 2-3 shows at a time. It took its toll on me. That’s when I decided to take a break. Coming back to television, the industry is going through an interesting phase where social content is back. We’ve gone back to our rural homes and their tales. How do you view this trend? Well, it’s one not very difficult to understand. The TRP bases of the channels have increased. Earlier, their bases were Delhi, Gujarat, Kolkata, Punjab and Mumbai. Now it’s extending to UP, Bihar, MP and Haryana. The good thing though is that the channels and producers have realised that you can’t win over audiences by showing problems worth Rs 500 crore. That will simply not work anymore. So, you think this change is for good? A Humlog did remarkably wonderfully well 25 years ago but it will find no takers now. It’s like when Maruti Suzuki first launched in India, everyone dreamed of buying it. Similarly, when Amitabh Bachchan shone as a superstar, people gave up parallel cinema. Everyone wants to graduate in life but it’s important you don’t lose the basic link as an audience. Well, more than the audience it’s the powers that be who need to realise this. However, that’s still far away. Do you follow contemporary shows? Which show do you like the most? I used to watch Balika Vadhu frequently but now time constraint doesn’t allow me that. However, one show that is really good is Agle janam mohe bitiya hi kijo. I like the way the show has been treated but most importantly they’ve not compromised on the performers. That is so heartening to see. Teenagers are playing protagonists in most shows. That’s another trend. Does that create any insecurity among actors of your age group? Insecurity! Why should that happen? I too came to Mumbai at a fairly young age (22). I was 26 when I got my first break with Koshish. Besides, I knew I wouldn’t have got a break if I didn’t topple one or two people. This is a cycle. Yesterday it was me; today it’s someone else. Though, if you’ve done good work then your audience will always turn their back on you. I’d like to believe that I’ve done good work. Besides, when you’ve achieved most of your needs in life, you don’t really crave for more. You’ve not done much fiction but you’ve been seen in quite a few reality shows. Surprisingly, we haven’t seen you in one recently. Were you worried of the reality tag? No, nothing of that sort. You tell me do we have any good reality shows today? Offers always kept pouring in but I turned all of them down. Though, I’d love to be part of Iss jungle se muhje bachao. I’m game for such shows. Have you pursued singing after the unpleasant experience in Jjhoom India? Jjhoon India did no good to any of us. However, I’ve only carried on with my passion for singing. I’m still in touch with Ananth Vaidynathan (Jjhoom India’s voice trainer). He’s helped me develop as a singer. Well, I’ve written and sung a song for an upcoming film. Rakesh Shiv is the music director. I won’t reveal more. It’s best that the producer does that. And how about returning to acting in films? Some time back, there were three good projects in hand. Back then, I was breaking my head as to how I’ll manage all of them. Thanks to the recession and then the strike. I didn’t have to do that. But now I’m breaking my head wondering when the next offer will come. Finally, how’s life at home. Any plans to start a family? All calm on the western front! Miya biwi ke pass kaam nahi toh we’re spending quality time together. As for starting a family, we’ve been trying since many years hope it will bear fruit.