I’ve got a lot, but I want more: Amar

The actor talks about completing 24 years in the industry, his first Gujarati film, career, and his two-year hiatus

Although he started his career in the early ’90s, Amar Upadhyay shot to fame with the hit TV show Kyunki... Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi... (KSBKBT). Speaking about the ups and downs in his career, the actor can’t believe that he’s completed 24 years in the industry. “I started my career with the sitcom Dekh Bhai Dekh in 1993, and when I saw my son watching it online, I realised that it has been so long. I have been working all this while and my journey has been wonderful,” says Amar. The actor says he is glad he got to work with veterans such as Aruna Irani, Paresh Rawal, Kiran Kumar, Anand Mahendroo, Ravi Chopra, JP Dutta and others in movies and TV shows.

Amar says he initially had no clue how to go about finding work in the industry, but he never found himself wanting for a job. He says, “Things just fell into place and I was never short of work. I am glad that I have been part of TV shows that featured me in different roles. Of course, people still remember me as Mihir Virani from KSBKBT. I have got a lot from the industry and the audience, but I want more. It’s not enough. I want to try my hand at better roles, ones that I haven’t attempted yet. I am very ambitious and always want to excel in whatever I do.” The actor, who is looking forward to his first Gujarati film this year, says he is thrilled that he has a comic role in the project, as he started his career with a comedy show.

After doing a varied palette of roles, including comic, negative, positive, psychopathic, and even double roles, Amar went on a twoyear hiatus after 2009. He says his chief reason for taking the break was his dissatisfaction with the offers that came his way. “I was lying low for two years, as I didn’t want to repeat [the same roles]. Then I was offered Bigg Boss for the fifth time in my career, which was why I took it up. Then, hosting a crime TV show and being part of the cookery reality TV show, Welcome, was fun. I learnt to cook for the show. At present, I’m part of a successful TV show. I wasn’t keen to take on the show, but I am glad I did.”

I was never short of work. I am glad that I have been part of TV shows that featured me in different roles. AMAR UPADHYAY, ACTOR