‘What is meant to be, will be’

Actor Harshad Chopda talks about his projects that didn’t take off last year; says working with Jennifer Winget is wonderful

Harshad Chopda is quite excited about being back on the tube. The actor has been missing from the small screen for the past two years, and he has been known to avoid the limelight when he isn’t working on a TV show. Ask him why, and he says, “I don’t know why. I try to be as social as possible and I have worked towards it, but, usually, when I get occupied with my work, I just focus on it and forget everything else. When I am doing scenes, I forget to eat and drink. There is a lot of pressure to deliver as you have only a few hours after you get a scene on the set. Once you wrap up and go home, you are too tired to be on social media or socialise otherwise.”

Harshad admits that he doesn’t “understand” socialising or “being seen at the right places”. He says, “I would go out there for someone I know or for some cause I believe in. The whole idea of doing something only for money isn’t my cup of tea. Money is very important, but there has to be something more important than that.”

Last year wasn’t a great one for Harshad: he was working on a show which didn’t take off, and then he was seen in a movie, 2016 The End (2016), and that didn’t work at the box office. However, the actor says his morale remains unaffected. “When the movie was supposed to release, I was already working on the other show [which didn’t take off], so I was busy. And when that show didn’t work out, I was already prepping for my new show. So if you are working and not sitting at home, then it doesn’t affect you much. You might have felt that I was on a break, but I have not been on one, as I was working on various projects. I might not have made a lot of money, though (laughs).”

The actor says he isn’t disheartened, as he believes “what is meant to be, will be”. He says, “Work never stops. Today, I am happy that I have a new show coming up, and it was worth waiting for it. It is a love story with drama, and we loved making it. I’ve known of Jennifer (Winget) for years and we even worked on sets right next to each other, but we never met. However, it never felt like we didn’t know each other. We got along superbly, which was made this venture wonderful.”

The whole idea of doing something only for money isn’t my cup of tea. Money is very important, but there has to be something more important than that. HARSHAD CHOPDA, ACTOR