Vivan moved on from TV after reaching a ‘point of saturation’

Vivan Bhathena, who stars in the recently released erotic thriller, Hate Story 4, had started his acting career on TV, where he did shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kumkum. But in 2011, he bid goodbye to the medium to focus on films. He felt like he had “reached a point of saturation” on television.

“I no longer felt the fun. The scripts had the same old formula. The people coming into TV today have turned it into a business more than a creative endeavour. As they say, sirf dhandha bana diya hai (it’s become a business),” says Vivan, who is happy with the popularity that web series and digital shows are enjoying these days.

As for films, after making his foray in Bollywood with a small role in Chak De! India in 2007, the actor went on to be a part of films such as Karthik Calling Karthik (2010) and Dangal (2016). Did the less screen time in these projects bother him? “You are never really happy with what you get. I am very critical of what I do. I was not conscious about the screen time in Dangal, which was a five-minute role, but I got so much work out of that,” he says.

Vivan’s first big outing was last year’s Varun Dhawanstarrer Judwaa 2, which saw Vivan playing the main antagonist. “Things have definitely improved after that... I recently did a south film as the lead villain opposite Ravi Teja,” he says.

Vivan Bhatena starred in TV shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kumkum