Like most actors, Krishna Bharadwaj, currently gaining name and fame as Tenali Rama, has also seen the hard struggle before finding his place in the sun. He was first noticed in Jasuben Jayantilaal Joshi Ki Joint Family (NDTV Imagine), back in 2008. “I was also part of Sukh by Chance (Sony).”
“For around 4 years, I did not have any professional or personal life. It was indeed a tough period but one thing that kept me going was my belief that you should keep busy by adding new attributes to your skill sets, which sooner or later hits pay dirt.”
“Hence, during that time, I started doing comedy Gujarati theatre and I also wrote my starring film (Chal Main Jeetva Jaiye) in the same lingo, which went on to last for 6 months in theatres.”
“When this above Contiloe Entertainment folk lore was first offered to me, the only condition they put was that I will have to go bald. Most actors refused, but I said yes, for I not only liked the graph but had no other options as well.”
“But I am glad that I said yes for it has gone to become a huge hit. Apart from great writing, which never happens on TV, just rubbing shoulders with super co-stars (Pankaj Berry, Manav Gohil and Nimisha Vakharia) automatically raises the bar for all concerned.”
“The biggest reason for our success was that Tenali Ram heralded a big change in SAB TV’s programming credo, which shifted from hard core comedy to slice of life, thereby not only increasing plots lines but also appealing to a much larger demographic.”
Looking ahead, he is also game for trying out very high duty drama in films and web series, which is the new in-thing. “Youth no longer dig TV, which still seems stuck in the regressive small-town mode.”
Here Krishna, who comes across as a very boisterous guy in Tenali Rama, adds, “In real life, I am a much more reserved guy. But then, an actor’s job is to be someone else. I am game for all kinds of interesting genres; bring it on.”
“During my low phase, against my basic grain, I was open to doing TV saas-bahu shows as well, but none came my way.”