Hindi film actor Zayed Khan is debuting on the small screen with Haasil . He spoke to Kritika Dua about the location-based series and its challenges
The romantic thriller Haasil has all the elements for it to work magic with the audience. Zayed Khan describes the show as a “different take on the new conservative India.” Zayed is debuting on small screen as Ranvir Raichand with Vatsal Seth of Taarzan: The Wonder Car fame essaying the role of his younger brother Kabir Raichand and the love interest, Aanchal portrayed by Nikita Dutta, a connecting thread between the two brothers.
The three prime characters in the show are trying to achieve love, power, money and influence. While they all share the same goal, the climax builds as they fight to the last one standing.
It’s an interesting story of how he came across the show. “I was approached for this show six months back by the producer Siddharth P Malhotra who is a good friend. I was bowled over by the script, it didn’t seem like script of a serial but was as good as an Abbas Mustan movie. I was apprehensive of the budget which will be required to shoot it but he cleared my doubts.” He said to Siddharth that if he executes the script the way its written then he will blindly sign it. Zayed said that Siddharth has kept his word as the first episode fared above his expectations.
Talking about his comeback, he said, “Interesting content is flooding the television as they get more time to develop the characters as compared to films. I am doing this show solely because of the script, it has ups and downs, twists and turns. A voice inside my head said follow the makers who create and execute good work and not the money. Thus, I agreed to do it.” The show will come to an end after six months. According to him television is the biggest medium to reach the audience as 68 per cent of India watches it.
Zayed who seemed confident about the show added, “I can guarantee that one has never seen a show like Haasil on television before.” The show premiers on October 30 on Sony channel.
Talking about his character, he added, “I love the character as it’s a very grey with many layers.” He also said that it was a real challenge working in the television as one ends up using only 15 minutes out of 150 minutes of shooting but “there is no fun without any challenges. We have worked hard, complained also but we never let go of the quality of the show. ”
He also applauded the makers for taking a risk in the right direction which proves that they are visionary.
The promos have got a positive feedback from the audience and has set a buzz. “I am ecstatic that the promos have been accepted so well and songs have been liked. I believe it’s a new age of television, crucial to reinvent with time, come up with new material for the young audience who are bored of the same old stuff.”
Zayed defined Ranvir Raichand as a “generous, calculative, shrewd yet practical and reserved. What seems like a risk to others is his game where he is batting and fielding.” He said that if someone would have offered a role like this five years back then his response would have been “no” as it requires maturity and experience to understand the depth of the character.
He said that the character is relatable as the character is realistic. “People will get naturally attracted to him. His nature is such that you will love and hate him at the same time. They will be inquisitive about his next step. Characters like this brings out performance from an actor.” In spite of the difficulties Zayed was driven by the purpose to communicate the character to the audience. Though he has achieved a lot as an actor yet “there is always a hunger for more.”
The show has been shot entirely on outdoor locations and does not have a fixed set. “The experience of shooting high quality work on outdoor locations is difficult. One has to be well prepared for it, come with a game plan. And everybody else has to make sure that they come with theirs. It took us a while before we could achieve 15 minutes. The idea is to keep touching this mark everyday. There was a lot of struggle and pain involved but once we saw the results we knew that there is no turning back and its possible to do it.”
According to him its harder to work in television than films as one has to learn 30 pages of dialogues in a day when compared to two pages of dialogues in films and to put a new comer into television is more difficult than to put a new comer in films. “A new comer will be lost in television. It’s the talent that matters along with an in depth knowledge of what goes into the production part. I am still coping up with it as sometimes I have good days and sometimes bad or difficult.” He emphasised that over a period of time everything gets smoothened out and one starts finding their groove. “I definitely feel television is a difficult medium for an actor,” he added.
“Acting in films seems like a holiday after working in television. In this, one has to be sharp, focussed and alert mind. You have to realise your continuity as an actor as sometimes the director or assistant director might forget it. It does a take a little experience and is not everybody’s cup of tea.” He said that this show is for his fans who wanted him to come out and do things. He was offered Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi but couldn’t do it and is open to enter the digital space as well, do films in future if offered something interesting. “These days plots are content driven and actors do Indie films and I would love to be a part of it. Kucch dil ke liye kucch pet ke liye (One has to work for both money and mental satisfaction), one has to maintain a balance of it,” he added.