Pankit Thakker recalls breaking his TV, getting violent in real life after Kabhii Sautan Kabhii Sahelii

TV actor Pankit Thakker has said that he got quite violent in his real life when his character Harsh, from Kabhii Sautan Kabhii Sahelii, required him to be aggressive on TV. In a new exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, Pankit recalled breaking his own TV once in a fit of anger, and then realising that he needs to take a break from the negativity. Pankit featured on the Ekta Kapoor serial with Anita Hassananadani, Urvashi Dholakia and Hiten Tejwani. (Also read: Ekta Kapoor supports ‘most reliable’ Akshay Kumar as Selfiee records low opening)

Recalling the time he worked on the serial, Pankit said, "When I do a character, I give it my all. Harsh Bhatia was an anti-hero role, he would trouble the women he is in love with. He was a little bit of a psycho, an orthodox, in the show. Of course, he was justified (in the show) but his actions would shock anyone. He was like Kabir Singh of those times. You may love the character but you hate his actions."

"There were scenes that needed me to get aggressive and I had started breaking glasses and all...like I would destroy something…the property on sets and people used to get scared (and wonder) ‘Arre isne kya kar diya (what did he just do?)," he added.

Pankit then talked about the time he broke a glass on the sets, and later a TV in his own house. "There was a scene between me and Anita. She was supposed to say something to me, and spontaneously, I just broke the glass that was lying around. The directors and everyone were like 'what did he just do!' Ekta maam was also watching the monitor and she liked it. With her affirmation, I started doing more of that, but then, the same thing started to happen in my real life as well."

He said, "Whenever there was something that needed to be done and I did not want to do it, or something that was against my belief system, I would react like that and break something. Once I broke my own TV. This was around 2001-2002, I just hit the TV with a bat that I had lying around in my house. I was going through some emotional issues, something just happened. Then I was like this is not how it should be. Let me just give it (the role) a break." Pankit further said that he has now understood and keeps his professional and personal lives separate.

Talking about the experience of working on his new TV show, Janam Janam Ka Saath, Pankit said, "We are not restricted as actors. We are allowed to go with the flow and explore our emotions. Usually, that is not the norm on TV sets. Daily soaps have the pressure of time restrictions and not many shows have the luxury of exploring emotions. The directors need to complete their work on time, and have daily deadlines to meet. Despite those limitations, we are able to look into ourselves and deliver on this show." He added that his character on the show "can be compared to Virasat ka Anil Kapoor (Anil Kapoor's character in the 1997 film Virasat) - righteous and strict."

Asked how the functioning of the TV industry has changed over the years, Pankit said, “The premise and emotions are still the same. The only thing that has changed..the way people emote, and how the audience responds - that has changed a lot. So earlier, I was doing a similar show but the way people behave and respond to certain things has changed a lot. The emotions are the same - Indians love drama and emotions. People watching the shows have evolved and become contemporary. So neither the audience nor the characters will speak, think and emote in the same way as they did 20 years ago. They have all become contemporary so their way of expression has changed.”