‘Bollywood is not a part of my plan’

Known for his role in Balika Vadhu, Shashank Vyas is more than excited about playing Ravish on Jaana Na Dil Se Door, where he is seen after his year long break

It did not take Shashank Vyas long to conquer hearts as he played Jagya in the popular daily soap Balika Vadhu. With his boy-next-door looks, he is thrilled about playing an army officer in Jaana Na Dil Se Door. He plays the role of Ravish Vashisht, a straight-forward guy, for whom loyalty to the nation stands above everything else. At a time when several television shows have women characters as protagonists, he is happy that this show offers him enough space to explore and discover a whole new side of himself. It is not a typical saas-bahu drama, and so is challenging on many levels, he believes. He jumped at the opportunity after hearing the script, and is glad that he did.

Shashank moved to Mumbai in 2009 having given up on innumerable MBA entrance exams. There was something about acting that kept calling out to him, and it was something that he had enjoyed since his school days. He decided to give himself two years to struggle and get his foot in the industry, he recalls. “I was chasing something that wasn’t my passion and that was probably where I was going wrong. It was quite late that I realised that I did not want to be a part of the herd, rather I would like to stand out from it. However when I did realise this, there was no stopping me,” he says.

Fun, admittedly, is this young boys mantra. Without it, everything is a burden. Ask him if he finds anything challenging about being an actor and he explains, that since he loves what he does, even if something is difficult he doesn’t realise it. For him, getting work and doing it to the best of his ability is all that matters. Patience and the quality to be accommodating is what he feels makes or breaks an actor. If one cannot adjust to the demands of the script or the change in attitude that every character demands, then growth as an actor becomes a problem, he adds.

Currently, Shashank is completelyswamped with shooting for Jaana Na Dil Se Door. Ask him where he sees himself a few years down the line and he says, “I believe in living in the moment and as long as I am working it does not matter what medium I work in. Bollywood is not a part of my plan. To be very honest, I do not have a plan at all. I will take up anything interesting that is offered to me.” When people recognise me and love my character, I know that I am headed down the right road and this keeps me going. The television is as big a medium as any other and so even the work you do here counts,” he adds. Jaana Na Dil Se Door airs on Star Plus, from Monday to Friday at 5:30 pm and 10:30 pm.

salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Originally published on The Golden Sparrow