Apurva Agnihotri: TV is still dictated by vague, old stories of saas-bahu

Though now Harry shines among so many strong characters, initially, it was just a two-scene role and Apurva was apprehensive about taking it up. “I had two scenes in season one and when they called me, I told them ‘I’m not going to do two scenes’. Then, they told me the scenes are with Mona and Ekta wants you to do it. So, I came for both of them. I didn’t expect they will keep the character in the following seasons as well. And, it is such a pleasant surprise that people have liked that character,” Apurva shared.

Apurva Agnihotri and Mona Singh in Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain.

Apurva had a gala time working with his Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi co-actor Mona Singh, “It was like we moved from the set of Jassi.. to the sets of Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain. It’s always so much fun working with Mona. She is such a happy person, we’re always laughing and time just passes by with her.”

The basic plot of Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain is the one we have seen in many TV shows: husband abandons the wife for another woman and the wife is left aghast. But what makes the web series different is its portrayal of the main characters. It shows the audience how in a relationship only one person is not responsible for maintaining harmony, and that the ‘other’ woman is not always the villain.

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Apurva feels TV can never handle such a bold story and characters. “On TV we can’t do this. TV is all messed up. The kind of stuff we’re doing on the web is exceptionally diverse. The storytelling which is happening on the web is just out of the world. TV is still dictated by vague, same old stories revolving around saas-bahu. In fact, it is lagging behind. If it has to compete with the web, the makers have to take some drastic steps,” the actor quipped. “The web space is even better than movies today. It is an amazing time for people who are talented and have something new to say,” he added.

Also read | Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain 3 actor Gurdeep Kohli: You get moved by the parts you play

When asked about his opinion on the 90-day credit period of payments of TV artistes and workers, Apurva said, “Every business, every office gives salaries at the end of the month, it should be like that for people working on TV too. You can take 45 days but 90 days is bad. The problem is, it is not just 90 days. You get it in 90 days only if the show is on air. But if the show’s not on air, they probably take 190 days or more. The sad part is people are sitting up and taking notice of it now after a few actors have committed suicide and some have shared stories of their financial crisis. If they would have noticed it earlier, we would not have lost lives.”

“I think we just need to streamline the stuff from the top. The TV association should look into the regular payments of everyone, not just actors but also the spot boys and technicians. The channels should make producers sign a contract and the actors’ association also needs to be active,” Apurva concluded.