TV actor Ankit Bathla is enjoying playing warrior Arjun in &TV mytho show, Paramavtaar Shree Krishna.
“It was not easy at first, for I had to really spruce up my Hindi and learn to act with heavy duty costumes. This was one reason why I had stayed away from this genre, but this time I decided to take the bull by the horns,” says Ankit, who has been around for many years, doing several shows, namely Thapki Pyar Ki, Beta Hi Chahiye, Tu Sooraj Main Saanjh Piyaji, etc.
“I had to learn how to use the bow and arrow, which is my character’s weapon of choice. I was also required to depict the total concentration and devotion to his craft that made Arjun the #1 marksman in the Mahabharata.”
“Another big challenge was to get the upright body language. So whenever I would slouch on set, my director or creative would hit me saying, be erect, reminding me of the childhood pasting I would get from my mom and grandmom who would bellow that if you don’t sit straight, you will get a humped back.”
“In an attempt to get the above elements right, I needed the physical stamina, so started hitting the gym with gusto, which in turn made me go from flab to abs.”
Here Ankit does accept that had the show been on a bigger channel, they would have got better TRPs. “It is indeed a dampener when despite all the hard work, numbers just don’t add up. Having said that, positive fan messages keep us going.”
Besides TV and web (Love Lust and Confusion), Ankit is also doing music videos. After the success of Dhoop Mein Bhi Baarishein, which featured him and Ridhi Dogra, he has one more Times Music song sung by Asis Kaur. “I have shot with another girl in the video. Asis also makes fleeting appearances as most singers do in their videos.”
“It is fun to shoot in different locations. Also, time commitment is very less,” ended Ankit.