In addition to entertaining viewers, I need to entertain myself in new ways: Ashish Sharma

In an industry where the female protagonist predominantly gets roles that have much weightage when compared to the male lead, Ashish Sharma is an exception. Whether it be his debut show on small screen, Gunahon Ka Devta for Imagine, or Chandragupta Maurya for Imagine, or the presently running show for Zee TV, Rab Se Sona Ishq, Ashish has played roles that have stood out and have been regarded as male-dominated shows. His portrayal of Ranveer in Rab Se Sona Ishq, produced by Jay Mehta Productions has been diverse when it comes to the characterization. The graph started with Ranveer running out from his marriage in search of his dreams, and went on a different path when Ranveer realizes that his life is his love and tries to get back to the girl (Sahiba) he loves. This is followed by Ranveer becoming a psycho lover wherein he just cannot digest the fact that the lady he loves has moved on in life. Talking about his career graph, Ashish Sharma states, “I have been fortunate with the kind of roles I have got. I would not have entered television if I had not got such roles. What attracted me to this medium is the process that goes behind making TV shows. I have been lucky in meeting the right people who have given me the space and freedom to work. Firstly Gunahon Ka Devta happened by chance. It was Nikhil Sinha who forced me to take the show. Even before Gunahon could end, Saurabh Tewari offered me the role of Chandragupta Maurya and I grabbed it. Performance and success comes later; it is very essential that you get the role you want, to begin with. Coming to Ranveer, he was supposed to be grey from day one. I was offered both the roles of Daljeet and Ranveer, and I chose to do Ranveer as it was a new challenge for me. There was much more to experiment in terms of character. As per the initial story plot, Ranveer was to turn grey as soon as they land in London. However, the creative team decided to delay it, and took three months to justify Ranveer’s stand. I have to say that the Zee TV team supported me all throughout to depict the character in the right way.” So how difficult was it for you to go through the transformation that Ranveer had? “To tell you frankly, I had to prepare myself to go through this journey of Ranveer. Just before the Big Ben incident was shot, I requested my team to give me a day’s off. I told them that I needed to prepare myself for this transformation and see how my mind reacts. So I took a random bus in London and wandered around the place, in a complete disoriented state. I rode that journey with the character in mind, and when I got back, I jotted down my thought process on the day and sent it to the creative team. And the team made sure that they shot the Big Ben sequence keeping my thought process in mind as that particular scene was the beginning where Ranveer turned grey.” Ask Ashish on how his fans have accepted to the grey character of Ranveer, he states, “Every individual is grey and have the good as well as bad inside him. Depending on the situation and circumstances the individual is put in, the shade of the person comes out. Ranveer is reacting in a way in which a lover would react. He wants his love by hook or by crook. Initially, I used to get mails from my fans that they do not like Ranveer’s negative side. However, with time they realize that I cannot be playing a goodie all my life. In addition to entertaining them, I need to entertain myself in new ways. Only if I break the monotony, I will get a good night’s sleep.” Ashish goes on, “See even before Gunahon Ka Devta happened, I rejected lot many offers on television as I did not want to do TV where men are just a furniture to support. God forbid, even if I have a slump in my career, I will choose to bring the furniture to life.” Ashish, we are sure your fans will understand what you are arriving at!!!