Sandeep Baswana, who has been around TV for years, is looking forward to his new Colors fantasy show, Vish Ya Amrit: Sitara. “Vish Kanyas have always been a part of desi folklore. It is said that yesteryear kings would make young girls poisonous from childhood, by giving them venom in small doses. Later, when they would grow up, they would send them out on clandestine missions to honey-trap and kill their opponents.”
Here, Sandeep adds, “Doing fantasies is a bigger challenge than doing your run-of-the-mill family dramas, for not only do you need to wear those heavy costumes, but also have to imagine whatever is written (being unreal and Chroma/CG driven), and then emote to the best of your ability.”
Unlike several other actors, Sandeep does not have any issue with ornamental Hindi. “I love picking up new words of the Lingua Franca of our great nation,” says Sandeep, who has been known for his performances in Kkoi Dil Mein Hai, Udaan and Hitler Didi.
Besides TV, Sandeep is looking forward to his web debut with Alt Balaji’s Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat 3. “It is a pacy story and I play Sakshi Tanwar’s love interest, who is also her boss. The best part of our show is that, unlike most other web products which are full of s*x and abuse, we have a more family-oriented approach.”
“Web has a great future, for it allows cinema type quality content, but for a longer duration. However, we need to allow makers other than big film guys to also make digital stories.”
“I am a big fan of western web series like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, which have library value, unlike dustbin level desi TV content which comes and goes.”
In closing, we ask Sandeep whether, given the stiff competition, friendships can thrive in Tellyland. “Yes very much, for the entire small screen crowd is very social. I’d rather say that we need to make our circle smaller, for how much can you party? What you say surely happens in filmdom, given conflicts over releases and jealousies.”
Among his several close buddies, Sandeep lists Shabbir Ahluwalia and Yash Tonk as “being right up there.”