He has had a successful career of more than eight years on TV — as actor and anchor. But now, Jay Bhanushali wants to focus on films. He tells Sangeeta Yadav that DID helped him make a mark in Bollywood and that he prefers a reality show over daily soap
What brings you back to the ninth edition of Dance India Dance (DID)IJ
Dance India Dance (DID) has played a big role in bringing me into the limelight. Whatever films that I’ve done, all the directors and producers have spotted me hosting DID. Therefore, I give 100 per cent to this show and can never give up DID. My first film, Hate Story 2 happened because of it. So this is a big platform for me where producers can see my talent.
Karan Wahi replaced you as anchor DID Supermoms 2015. What was the reason for not doing itIJ
I took 10 months break after my last movie — Ek Paheli leela. When it was releasing in April, DID Supermons was about to go on air. So, I had to give it a miss. But when the ninth editor of DID came up, the showmakers wanted me to anchor it again. I said yes.
Do you feel the pressure to do things differently every yearIJ
I don’t try to do things differently. Today, if you’ll ask me what exactly I’m going to do the next episode, I have no clue about it. I just go with the flow; I don’t follow any script. Otherwise it will look mechanic and boring. Whatever Mithun da and I do on the show is impromptu. I will leave the show if you’ll find the interaction between us scripted. It is the spontaneity that makes things interesting since you don’t know what the other person is going to say.
Do you have any dos and don’ts in anchoringIJ
I like to respect everyone on the stage. Behind the camera too, I’m very friendly with all the contestants and engage with them so that they feel comfortable before their performance. My USP is that I don’t mimic any actors.
Is anchoring is the best profession for TV actorsIJ
For a person like me who is lazy and doesn’t like to work, this is the best job. If you give me an offer — anchoring a reality show or a daily soap — I would choose reality show. This is because everyday, it’s a new subject; there is no monotony. A daily soap is a regular thing. For two month it’ll keep the excitement quotient, then it will feel like one is working in a Government job. The time I get bored, I take a break for six months, go to some really boring place and not watch TV. I bore myself so much that I want to come back to work.
You started off with daily soaps but now you have stopped. WhyIJ
Once you take up a daily soap, the minimum commitment is around is three years. That gives you little time to network with people and work on any other project. There is pressure to shoot 365 days. Anchoring is short and sweet. I shoot the week’s episode on every Tuesday. The rest of the week, I go for meetings and networking with the production houses.
Daily soaps have been reduced to six to 12 months. Do you still not like to do oneIJ
The daily soaps go off air in six to 10 months because of their poor TRPs and not because the channel and the production plans it for that short a duration. Even if I’ll take up a daily soap which is for one year, I’ll be losing out on a lot of work. That’s the reason I decided to concentrate on one or two reality shows in a year.
There have been a lot of unrelatable content on TV. Do you agreeIJ
Surprisingly those unrelatable shows are the popular ones which are on the top five 10 list. That means there is a set of audience who wants to see these kind of shows too. Our generation might not relate to it but there are many channels that have come up with youth-centric content. Indian TV is like a mall of entertainment. You enter it and there are plethora of options; you can choose want you want to.
Do you feel insecure that many Bollywood actors venturing into TVIJ
When I’m doing a film I am given that kind of space. So it’s all ok. I don’t believe in completion as at the end if someone is meant to do a job, it has to happen with the same person. No matter how hard you try to take away other’s project, they never succeed. If the person deserves it and if it is meant to happen to him, it will happen with him only.
What kind of movies would you like to doIJ
I would like to sign up for movies that have something interesting to offer and have originality. At this stage, I would not like to do an do an adaptation of a film. Doing an adaptation is not appreciated a lot by the audience especially the college-goers who are an ardent viewers of Hollywood movies. The time they see an adaptation or a remake, they are disappointed — drawing a comparison between the original and the remake. But when it comes to South films, not many understand the language so when its remake is done, it gets a lot of viewers.