‘You Don’t Get What You Want’

‘The
film
industry
has
a
lot
of
competition.
You
don’t
always
get
the
roles
you
want.’

Gurmeet
Choudhary
is
thrilled
with
his
patriot
act
in
the
Web
series,

Commander
Karan
Saxena.

He
even
sings
in
the
series,
a
first
in
his
life.

“I
wanted
to
do
action
films
and
feel
they
would
have
turned
out
better
for
me.
People
would
have
liked
them
more.
But
you
don’t
get
what
you
want,”
Gurmeet
tells



Rediff.com
Contributor

Sameena
Razzaq.

The
show
has
an
interesting
tag
line:
‘Jab
Commander

aata
hai
toh
Bhavandar
aata
hai.’

You
will
see
how
our
R&AW
agents
leave
no
stone
unturned
to
reach
out
to
places
that
need
help.

They
are
the
quintessential
saviours
of
our
country.
They
leave
their
families
behind
and
sacrifice
almost
everything
to
serve
our
nation.

Commander
Karan
Saxena
is
a
larger-than-life
character.

Our
writer
Amit
Khan
has
been
writing
about
this
heroic
character
since
the
last
three
decades.

His
novels
have
been
a
huge
hit,
so
it
was
a
huge
responsibility
for
us
to
replicate
the
magic
of
those
novels
on
screen.

You
play
a
R&AW
agent.
These
characters
are
physically
very
demanding.
Did
you
undergo
any
special
training?

My
dad
was
in
the
army,
so
I
practically
grew
up
in
that
environment.

Though
R&AW
is
a
different
department,
the
officers
pretty
much
do
the
same
thing:
Serve
the
country.

The
only
thing
I
had
to
work
on
is
being
physically
fit
for
the
role.
I
read
a
lot
of
books
and
watched
many
documentaries
on
R&AW
agents
to
get
the
nuances
right.

Director
Jatin
Wagle
knows
a
lot
about
geopolitics
and
the
men
in
uniform.
So
that
helped
a
lot.

Having
played

sanskari
characters,
does
it
become
difficult
to
share
a
personal
moment
with
your
wife
on
social
media
without
having
to
deal
with
the
backlash
from
so-called
moral
police?

We
are
different
people
off
camera.

What
we
put
on
social
media
is
actually
how
we
are
in
real
life.
It’s
not
fake.

That
is
how
we
live
our
life.

My
wife
Debina
(Bonnerjee)
and
I
are
very
active
on
Instagram.

We
regularly
post
pictures
of
our
activities.
I
think
people
can
relate
to
whatever
we
do
as
a
couple.

We
post
pictures
of
the
moments
we
like
the
most
on
social
media.
We
also
post
things
that
we
sometimes
don’t
like.

Our
posts
represent
our
personalities.

There
are
trollers
who
troll
us
with
nasty
comments
but
95
percent
of
the
comments
are
positive.

You
have
sung
the
title
track
on
the
show.
This
is
your
first
brush
with
singing.
Have
you
always
been
a
rap
fan?

Frankly,
I
had
no
connection
with
singing.

Though
my
dad
was
an
army
officer,
he
was
a
trained
classical
singer
too.

My
wife
Debina
is
also
a
trained
classical
singer.

I
am
the
only

besura
in
the

khandaan.

Somehow,
the
producer
of
our
show
felt
I
could
rap.

It
could
be
because
I
am
quite
vocal
about
what
I
feel
for
the
country
and
our
army.

He
said
rapping
is
about
saying
things
that
are
in
your
heart
and
I
do
that
pretty
well.

When
I
told
Debina,
she
asked
me
to
opt
out,
saying
you
won’t
be
able
to
pull
it
off.
But
I
persisted.

When
the
song
came
out,
Debina
was
surprised
and
extremely
happy.

I
was
happy
to
prove
Debina
wrong.

Normally,
Web
series
are
for
binge-watching
but
here,
you
have
staggered
the
episodes.

Yes,
even
I
wondered
why
we
are
releasing
one
episode
at
a
time.

But
this
is
working
in
our
favour
as
people
are
curious
and
eagerly
awaiting
the
next
episode.

I
feel
this
is
the
best
way
to
stay
relevant
and
rule
people’s
hearts.

You
are
father
to
two
lovely
daughters.
How
has
fatherhood
changed
you
as
a
person?

I
had
heard
when
a
man
becomes
a
father,
his
attitude
towards
life
changes.
In
my
case,
there
was
no
major
change.

Yes,
there
is
more
responsibility
and
you
look
forward
to
winding
up
work
soon
so
you
can
run
back
home
to
your
kids.

The
carefreeness
is
gone.

Earlier,
we
would
go
out
to
watch
a
movie
or
just
hang
out
with
friends
but
now,
we
first
think
about
our
kids.

Also,
I
have
become
more
cautious
about
the
work
I
do.

I
want
my
children
to
feel
proud
of
the
choices
I
make,
career-wise.

But
frankly,
deep
down,
I
have
also
become
a
child
with
my
children.

As
a
family,
we
are
a
mad
bunch
who
do
lot
of

pagalpanti
at
home.

Despite
stellar
performances,
your
Hindi
films
did
not
get
you
the
due
you
deserved.
Do
you
think
the
OTT
has
opened
new
avenues
for
you?

The
film
industry
has
a
lot
of
competition.
You
don’t
always
get
the
roles
you
want.

I
wanted
to
do
action
films
and
feel
they
would
have
turned
out
better
for
me.
People
would
have
liked
them
more.
But
you
don’t
get
what
you
want.

My
films
did
average
business.
But
I
got
to
work
with
good
people.

You
haven’t
eaten
a
samosa
in
the
last
14
years.
When
will
your
samosa

vanwas
get
over?

My
samosa

vanwas
will
continue.
As
actors,
we
lead
a
disciplined
life
and
follow
a
strict
diet.

I
have
become
typecast
when
it
comes
to
physical
fitness.

When
people
talk
about
Gurmeet
Choudhary,
they
assume
he
will
come
with
6
packs.

So
to
maintain
my
fitness,
I
avoid
eating
certain
foods
and
samosa
is
one
of
them.

What
other
projects
are
you
working
on?

I
have
just
completed
the
Netflix
series,

Yeh
Kaali
Kaali
Ankhein.
It
will
release
in
November
or
December.