ZAYED KHAN IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS TELEVISION DEBUT
Khan talks about working for a television show, being on the “right” platform and chasing good content
Zayed Khan is back under the arc lights. The actor, who made his debut in 2003 with Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne, is now going to debut on TV with Haasil. He says, “I feel amazing making this jump. I am chasing only good content now and nothing else.”
The Main Hoon Na (2004) actor doesn’t look at this change as “a new chapter”. “Calling it a new chapter, a new beginning on television, sounds good. But I don’t feel I left (acting). I’ve always been around. After a break, you think about the roles you wanted to do but didn’t get. At the end of the day, your experiences in life are important and so is your time. When you want to share your work, you want to do it on the right platform. Today, between digital, film and television, it’s like anybody is game. You have to find the right people to work with. I was lucky that Sidharth (Malhotra, producer) offered me this role six months ago. I don’t think I was in the mood for acting or in the best physical condition. I don’t know what he saw in me but he asked me if I was interested. If the content is exciting, I don’t mind spending 1000 days on it.”
Zayed admits one of the reasons he took on the show was that it was a finite one. “Finite shows tend to pool in better talent, who otherwise can’t be committed to a show for longer periods of time. 80% of India watches television and only 20% watches films. This show is only for my fans as they asked me to come back. They pushed me out of my shell. It’s exciting to be on a new platform with new ideas,” he says.
While box office rules films, ratings make or break a television show’s storytelling rhythm. He says, “I have never been scared of results. All you can do is do your best, look your best, deliver a performance, say your lines and not trip over the furniture. If it works, well and good, if it doesn’t, you keep moving forward and doing more work.”
Acting in a TV show is different than a film, Zayed says and calls it “mazdoori” (labour). “Doing a film is like a holiday but TV is very hard. You have to keep quality in mind and deliver many scenes in a limited amount of time including learning 25 pages of dialogues every day. But you also get to sharpen your skills as an actor. During the first week, I was struggling and wondering how many retakes can I do? You have to churn out your best in 2-3 takes. But I realised that I didn’t know I had it in me. I guess, unless you are pushed you don’t know your limits,” says Zayed.