Rohit Roy looks back at his career, says success went to his ‘head’: ‘Should have been more responsible’

In an interview with Indianexpress.com, Rohit said he should have been “more careful” in his “nascent years” as an actor and taken work more seriously.

“I should have been more responsible as a person; I took everything for granted. When a small town boy comes here and is suddenly regarded as the heartthrob of Indian TV… I used to always look over my shoulders to check if they are talking to me or somebody else. Within the first six months I was crowned the ‘prince of TV’, Shobhaa De wrote amazing articles on me and it all somewhere went to my head.

“I was not serious about the kind of work I was picking up. I thought if this has worked, it means I have worked, which means everything I do will work. But it idn’t work, it doesn’t work. That was a major learning curve,” he said.

Rohit said his career has also led him to realise of saying no to projects he doesn’t have his heart on. If something isn’t challenging him today. the actor said he is learning to put his foot down.

“I need to learn to say no to my friends, whether it is for a film, show or even a dinner party. I might not go, but I just can’t say, ‘No I can’t come.’ I have learnt that now, in fact I told a family friend no last month, it was difficult for me. Siddharth P Malhotra, who is a dear friend of mine, is making a new show and they approached me for a role. Even though it is the main negative role, I just didn’t feel that I was pushing the envelope, doing something different.”

The actor said lack of exciting work opportunity led him to feel the “frustration” of not being able to showcase his craft to its full potential. In the last five years, Rohit said makers like Sanjay Gupta have pushed him and offered him parts which he can bite into, but that’s not the case with everyone.

Which is why the actor jumped at the opportunity to headline the new Audible show Woh Kaun Thi. Audible and Pratilipi have announced the release of 12 audio shows, one of which is voiced by Rohit. The new show is billed as a horror mystery and features Rohit as inspector Vijay Desai.

Rohit Roy in a still from his new show.

“I was getting bored with the work I was doing in cinema and OTT. I know people have liked my last five years body of work, but as an actor I was feeling that I should take a leap and do something not done before. If you follow my body of work, know from where I started and where I am today, I should have been on a different planet– whether it is my talent, looks or ability. But I am still not there and when you are still not there, you get frustrated with the work you are doing. ”

The actor said he is aware he can do those roles “at the blink of an eye” but doesn’t want to be content safe, comfortable parts. This confidence, Rohit said, doesn’t come from a space of “arrogance” but “recognising my skills”.

“Your skills are pushed only when you are offered that kind of work, which happened when Kabil came my way. The next role was in Mumbai Saga with John Abraham, but these are far and few between. Both were by Sanjay Gupta, so if I have to keep waiting for that one man to recognise my potential and put it out there, it gets frustrating. When the Audible show came my way, I was dying to sink my teeth in something like this,” he added.