The uber-talented Praneet Bhatt is quite satisfied with the way his King Darius character has unfolded in Sony show Porus.
Says Praneet, “It came out exactly the grand way the Producer had promised me. Siddharth Kumar Tewary is unlike other makers who increase or decrease roles as per ratings. Here the writer remained faithful to the real history. Daruis met his end the way it was shown.”
Point out that the ratings were never great, and Praneet, who has earlier done Mahabharat (STAR Plus) for the same producer, says, “It did well, given Sony’s graph. Also, you can’t expect a historical, which has a niche metro audience, to rake in huge numbers as a normal soap would do.”
“Plus, here we all have got international recognition as well, with the show doing well in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. This is a very good thing for Indian art per se.”
“As an artist, I always make it a point not to repeat myself. If you take a look at my graph, my every outing has been different. After Arslaan, I tried my hand at comedy in Geet. This was followed by my Mama Shukuni stint and then Rishton Ka Chakravyuh.”
He also did Bigg Boss in 2014. Ask him why he prefers negative roles and he says, “It offers much more to do. Some of the best known actors in our industry have been villains. I wish to follow the path walked by Naseeruddin Shah and do very good work. I am a big fan of Al Pacino’s craft as well.”
Praneet, an engineer from Kashmir, credits his varied repertoire to patience. “I don’t pick up anything random. It is not easy to wait long between projects, but I have self-belief. I utilize this break to teach kids; my mom is a school teacher.”
Looking ahead, Praneet would next want to try his luck in Hindi films.
“I think I am ready for the big screen. My TV stint has helped to hone the artist in me. Plus, my theatre experience will never abandon me.”
“I had done a Marathi film, Laden Aala Re Aala, where I essayed the role of the architect of 9/11, which hit the theatres in 2016.”
“Unfortunately, my bilingual (Punjabi and Hindi) flick continues to be stuck. Its Producer, Abis Rizvi was killed in a terrorist attack at Istanbul airport in 2017.”
Best of luck for your future, Praneet!!