VARUN LIKES TO FLOW WITH THE TIDE

"We have been signed up for a Star One show which will probably air in March. It's called Arranged Marriage. We have already started shooting for it. We are not cast opposite each other. Rajeswari is playing a wedding planner"He was first noticed in Koshish Ek Aasha. Varun Badola went on to become a household name with Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand and further strengthened himself as an actor with Astitva-Ek Prem Kahaani. Though all these shows were women centric and dominated heavily by female leads in the form of Sandhya Mridul, Sangeeta Ghosh and Niki Aneja respectively, Varun got noticed as an actor of substance.

After proving his versatility by playing varied characters, he even managed to look young and vibrant alongside actress wife, Rajeshwari Sachdev, in Nach Baliye. Everyone knew that Rajeshwari could dance, but to see Varun gyrate so well was actually a pleasant surprise.

Currently, Varun can be seen in Rabba Ishq Na Hove romancing Sangeeta Ghosh (yet again) on Zee TV. And continuing with the fetish of playing a variety of characters, he is all set to appear in Nukkad, Star Plus' own take on the favourite serial of yesteryears. And that's not all. After enthralling viewers in Nach Baliye till the finals, Varun and Rajeshwari will be seen next in Arranged Marriage on Star One. So, with so much of happening on professional front, lets hear it from the actor himself.

On Nukkad: This serial is going to be remade by Haasil and Charas director Thigmanshu Dhulia, "It's a totally different show from the original Nukkad. It's not Nukkad Part-3 or something like that. It is just on the lines of the original show and has the flavour of Nukkad. But it will have a different story", he says.

"It's the story of several characters. I play the role of a guy who works in a bank. He is happily married until an Abhimaan like situation arises. His wife starts getting a higher salary than him, which makes him jealous. His boss also happens to be an old friend of his wife and he gives her special treatment. Thus the rift between them widens," he explains.

Does his character have a lot of shades? "Actually when I am working with a revered director like Tigmanshu Dhulia, I do not ask too many questions. I just work. So I do not know much about the growth of the character", he says candidly.

On working with wife Rajeshwari
"Yes, we have been signed up for a Star One show which will probably air in March. It's called Arranged Marriage. We have already started shooting for it." So will the Nach Baliye magic be evident on screen all over again? "We are not cast opposite each other. She is playing a wedding planner", he says.

Varun might not be revealing much about his role but there is no doubt that sparks will fly whenever Varun and Rajeshwari will be together on screen. After all, they share such a great chemistry on and off screen.
On films (Varun was much appreciated for his performance in Chandan Arora's Rajpal Yadav starrer Main, Meri Patni aur Wo.)

"I have not even seen that film," reveals Varun. Apart from acting he dances well too. So what about his big screen plans? "I don't know how much my dancing skills will help me in a film. I do not want to do films just for the sake of doing them," he says. So is he being choosy? "The kind of roles I am looking for I am not getting. So I would prefer to wait."

On the rumours of him quitting Rabba Ishq Na Hove, "This is quite an old rumour now. Actually it started when I joined Nach Baliye and there was a difficulty managing my dates. So maybe something or the other keeps coming out. As far as I know I am still doing the show", he clears the air. On the current scenario of TV actors being stressed out and over-worked, how does he handle all the stress? "People do get pressurised and it's not something new," he says.