Always been sincere to my characters: Karan Singh Grover

Mumbai: Actor Karan Singh Grover believes his sincere approach and honesty towards his characters in shows like ”Qubool Hai” and ”Dill Mill Gayye” have made them popular among the audiences.

Grover started his journey in showbiz as a model and made his foray into acting with the 2004 show ”Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi”. He became one of the most popular stars of television courtesy of his performance as Dr. Armaan Malik in ”Dill Mill Gayye” and Asad Ahmed Khan in ”Qubool Hai”. The 39-year-old actor, who ventured into Bollywood with the 2015 horror film ”Alone” and went on to star in ”Hate Story 3”, said he believes in staying real, both on and off-screen which contributes to building an equation with the audience.
”I am not somebody who can be fake in both real and reel life. I have to be real and be like that character. I have always been sincere with my work and maybe because of my sincerity towards my characters, there is a connection with the audience,” Grover, 39, told PTI in an interview.

The actor recently reprised the role of Asad with ”Qubool Hai 2.0”, a spin-off of his 2012 Zee TV drama. His co-star Surbhi Jyoti is also reprising her role of Zoya Farooqui.

Grover said the original show, which had an almost four-year-long run, enjoyed a huge fan following because of its progressive storyline and strong performances.

”People have loved Asad and Zoya so much we are fortunate to have those audience members who love us unconditionally. We have done a lot of hard work to give them a better and improved version,” he added.

The actor said he didn’t have to revisit the show or his role to prepare for the spin-off as the character ”never left me”. Grover believes while the part of Armaan was closer to his real self, the baggage of Asad’s past makes it a ”heavy” character.

”Asad has a lot of baggage from his past and to carry a character with you is not a healthy thing… The role of Armaan was much more like mine. I didn’t have to act really. I had to do things the way I do it and people loved it. Asad was the complete opposite and I loved that.” The actor said ”Qubool Hai 2.0” has a completely new setting even though its lead actors are the same.

Set in Belgrade, the series is a cat-and-mouse chase drama with elements of mystery and thrill.

In the 10-episode show, which is currently streaming on ZEE5, the actor plays a shooting champion.

To prepare for the role, Grover said he underwent training and watched videos of Olympic gold medal-winning shooter Abhinav Bindra.

With ”Qubool Hai 2.0”, the actor said he also got the opportunity to do action on screen, something he thoroughly enjoys.

”I enjoy playing action roles more. Action, negative roles are fun for me,” he said. Directed by Glen Barretto and Ankush Mohla, ”Qubool Hai 2.0” is backed by Mrinal Jha of Mrinal Abhigyan Jha Productions.