Rajeev Khandelwal says his character in Showtime is inspired by ‘several superstars’: ‘My son in the show calls me Alman papa’

Spilling beans on his character from the show, which aims to expose the underbelly of the Hindi film industry, the actor said his character is “inspired by several superstars”.

“Actors have kind of inspired my character in the series. It is all there in my name. My name starts with A. I can’t take the names, obviously. Then, my kid in the series calls me ‘Alman Papa’. You’re getting it? It’s kind of inspired. I shall leave it to you guys because it’s the writers who wrote the character. These are the stories we heard about the superstars. I don’t know if it is true or not,” Rajeev said.

WATCH: Showtime trailer: Emraan Hashmi exposes Bollywood’s inner turmoil and power struggles in this Karan Johar show

Karan Johar said the show is a “derivative” of some “myths” about the film industry, which are presented with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. “It’s like we are making fun of ourselves as well. That’s the spirit with which we hope you watch it as well,” the filmmaker added. To which Rajeev said, “It’s not inspired by any one superstar, it’s just a collective mindset we have picked up.”

Showtime is directed by Mihir Desai and Archit Kumar. Rajeev said he had initially decided to turn the show down as he was asked to play someone who he is not in the industry.

“This was one show that to be honest, I had said no to. I said this was something I had not done. This was Dharmatic. I, of course, wanted to work with them. But I felt this was something very different. I don’t relate to the character at all; it’s not me at all. But as an actor, I thought if I could achieve this, it would be a personal victory. I’m so glad the way it has turned out. It worked out well in the end,” the actor added.

Emraan Hashmi leads the cast of Showtime, with Mouni Roy, Naseeruddin Shah, and Shriya Saran in key roles.

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