Well-known TV actor Shalin Bhanot is looking forward to his web debut, with new digital app Gemplex’s show, The Red Land.
“I play a rich and powerful Benares guy Babloo Thakur, who thinks he can get away with what he wants because of his caste and family connections.”
“There is even a song featured on my short-tempered character’s bahubali personality. He is someone who speaks more with his gun than with his mouth,” says Shalin, who was first noticed in shows like Saat Phere and Kulvaddhu.
“The best part of content today is that you are not typecast as either being black or white. Like any other human, Babloo too has good and bad traits (above-mentioned). He looks up to his father (Abhimanyu Singh), and really cares for his younger brother.”
“Our show is a realistic portrayal of the continuing domination over land and political power, by the Thakurs and Yadav communities in India’s most populous state. Forget the older age group, today even young college kids identify themselves more with their caste than their real names. We also dwell on the consequences of family wars (fight between 2 brothers) on local people.”
“This is the first time someone (producers Nagendra Rathore and Vivek Srivastava) has attempted to dwell on caste racism on the WWW,” added this ex-better half of eliminated Bigg Boss 13 contestant, Daljiet Kaur.
How bold is your web show? “While there is abusing, given that is how people actually talk out there, as for sex, there are a few lovemaking scenes, but it does not look vulgar, as both the male and female actors are clothed.”
Shifting gears to TV vs web, he says, “Both the mediums are as different as chalk and cheese. If the tube is more female-dominated, phone-consumed net content speaks to everyone. Also, as opposed to conventional thinking, not all digital products are bold; the edgy element is genre specific.”
What has been the initial reaction to The Red Land?
“To be honest, I was unsure about the feedback. But then I was pleasantly surprised by the very positive responses to both the trailer and the actual series.”
Besides WWW, Shalin is busy shooting for his Colors mytho show, Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush, where he plays Ravan. “There is no truth in the buzz about our show going off air due to certain communities being offended. We have a great story in hand and several families’ livelihood depends on us.”
He had no clue whether the ban of the show in Punjab had been lifted. In closing, Shalin has also just featured in a music video, Tujhe Paane Ko (sung by Jubin Nautiyal and Neeti Mohan), which has become a big hit. “We have garnered over 3 million hits in just five days.”