Pyaar Ke Do Naam... makes a splash

May 5, 2006

Spiked hair, sculpted body and a lazy smile lighting up his eyes, model-turned-actor Indraneil Sengupta definitely makes heads turn when he takes those confident strides. Conscious about the number of eyes on him, he quickly sinks into a chair and starts the conversation with a formal introduction.

Ask him how he'll cope with all the adulation that will naturally follow since his debut serial Pyaar Ke Do Naam... Ek Raadha, Ek Shyaam went on air few weeks ago, he flashes that shy smile again. "I don't know, but I am enjoying it," confesses Indraneil, whose earlier tryst with the camera happened via ad commercials and several music videos.

Warming up to the subject of Pyaar Ke Do Naam..., Indraneil is all praise for the show. When quizzed about the possibility of a reincarnation theme working with the audience, Indraneil quips, "I don't think there is any problem. Anybody who believes in the concept of love can relate to it. We have seen films being made on similar lines, and something like this is happening for the first time on television. So, there are high chances of the viewers getting hooked on to the serial. It will be a novel change from the regular saas-bahu soaps. Besides, any venture, be it television or a film, coming from the Sooraj Barjatya stable has always been a crowd-puller." Veteran Kaushik Ghatak (who earlier directed tele-serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Sanjivani) was particular on getting the look right. Highly excited about his dual roles in the daily, Indraneil reveals, "Kisna, who belonged to the 1960s' era, and Shyaam, the modern man of today cannot have the same get-up. I think I can relate to both Kisna and Shyaam's characters to some extent. I had to learn the typical rural dialect and change my hairstyle a bit, to bring alive Kisna in me. On the other hand, Shyaam is exactly the way I am in real life."

Armed with an acting course from the Kishor Namit Kapoor Acting Institute, for Indraneil, nothing could have been a better launch vehicle than an offer from the Rajshris. After overcoming the initial inhibitions of doing television, Indraneil now feels happy that he accepted the project. "Like every actor, I too want to see myself on the big screen someday. But at the moment I would like to concentrate only on this venture."

Based on the mystical concept of reincarnation, Pyaar Ke Do Naam... Ek Raadha, Ek Shyaam is a story inspired by the eternal love saga of Lord Krishna and Radha, an unfulfilled love story of the two characters Kisna and Radha, portrayed by the fresh and charming duo Indraneil Sengupta and Barkha Bisht respectively. Being telecasted from April 3 on Star Plus, Pyaar Ke Do Naam... is brings the return of actors like Tabassum and Ramesh Deo.