A SOAP OPERA
The cast of Swabhimaan — Rohit Roy, Kitu Gidwani and Anju Mahendru — call the show “an incredible journey” and a landmark series on TV
What you saw on screen — good or bad — was me. I behaved exactly the same way with family and friends. ROHIT ROY, ACTOR
Aired in the afternoons, Swabhimaan was a hit show in 1995. The series, helmed by Mahesh Bhatt and scripted by Shobhaa De and Vinod Ranganath, was about Svetlana, the mistress of business tycoon Keshav Malhotra who, upon his death, has to deal with inheritance issues and emotional trauma. It starred Kitu Gidwani, Anju Mahendru, Rohit Roy, Harsh Chhaya, Manoj Bajpayee, Deepak Parashar, Ashutosh Rana, Achint Kaur, Tanaaz Irani, Sandhya Mridul and Simone Singh, among others.
Rohit, who played the character of Rishabh Malhotra, says, “It was one of the first daily soaps on Indian television and my debut show. It became a landmark series in India. Bhatt saab was not only my mentor but goaded me to become a better actor. During a scene, where I was supposed to be drunk, maybe subconsciously, I was trying to copy Amitabh Bachchan. Bhatt saab told me, ‘I want Rohit Roy.’ He would reprimand me, too, when required.”
According to Anju, the experience of shooting was “professional” and was “like theatre” in many ways. “We had a multi-camera set-up, wonderful actors and an amazing storyline. Working with my friend Mahesh was enjoyable. I got along with Kitu, Rohit, Deepak, Manoj, Ashutosh, Harsh and the others. While most of us were new, there were professional theatre actors who were better than us.”
Kitu says, “I remember the professionalism, the fantastic story and multi-talented cast. When I was offered the part of the lead, it was a no-brainer that I had to do it. Svetlana was a woman with many facets. She starts off shattered and vulnerable, and then grows into a confident, strong woman. Mahesh gave us inputs we didn’t think of and made the process exciting.”
The cast loved the disciplined atmosphere on the sets and enjoyed working from 9am to 5pm. Kitu, Anju and Rohit became close friends, partly due to the fact that they had the biggest parts.
CASTING PROCESS
Rohit’s casting on the show was a long process. His thengirlfriend and now-wife Mansi Joshi Roy was initially offered a role in the show, but she wasn’t interested in doing TV. When Rohit heard about the offer, he asked her for the contact and ended up giving an audition. His audition was rejected by the panel of directors and Shobhaa as well. After three weeks, he was called for another test, but was turned down the second time too. “I was told that Shobhaa wanted someone more mature and intense, like Mohnish Bahl. But a week later, I got a call saying I had been confirmed. It was only when I reached the set that I realised I had bagged the main role,” says Rohit, adding that even after being rejected, it was Mahesh who spoke to Shobhaa, saying he wanted to cast him.