Sangram Singh - Interview

"My name is Sangram Singh, and I am not the wrestler," begins the young Punjabi actor who has recently entered Ekta Kapoor's Yeh Hai Mohabbatein in the role of a villain. Hailing from Jalandhar, the actor who has done three Punjabi films so far, will enact the character of a suave boss-turned-business-rival of Raman Bhalla, the lead character played by Karan Patel. The serial also features Divyanka Tripathi and is aired on Star Plus from Monday to Friday.

Apprehensive of typical TV serials, the young actor says, "I am also not the kind who can give 25-30 days of my month for shooting that consumes 15-16 hours of my day. I had some friends in Balaji who told me about this new show whose schedule suits me just fine. It doesn't require that kind of time from me. The character is also a smart one, not in the saas-bahumode, so I decided to audition and got in," he says.

Not bothered about beginning his innings on television with a negative role, Sangram states, "Even my first Punjabi film had me playing a negative character. I just want to act, and as long as my role is interesting I am game for everything." He points out how his character in Yeh Hai Mohabbatein can't actually be described as out and out negative either, "It is just the way he thinks, and I can follow his thought process quite clearly. Big CEOs and people with egos will love him because they will be able to relate to him, housewives will hate him and if these two responses do come his way, it means I am doing a good job."

As for whether he is looking at a future in television or film, he says that he has just begun exploring avenues and wants to work his way to knowing where he belongs. "I have done modelling in Delhi for a while and got bored of it because it doesn't require you to use your brain and nothing is fun that way, beyond a point. I thought of doing my MBA after that, but then decided to go to Mumbai and try my hand at acting. Now I just want to act, no matter what the medium or the language. I have done Punjabi and Hindi. If someone offers me English I am perfectly willing to do that as well. As long as I can speak the language, why not?"