New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) After acting in several TV soaps for over a decade, popular actor Ram Kapoor is finally set to foray into Bollywood and that too with four projects that include Farhan Akhtar's "Kartik Calling Kartik" and Anurag Kashyap's "Udaan".
"I have signed on for four very interesting films and two of them are complete. One of them is 'Kartik Calling Kartik' and the other is 'Udaan' with Anurag Kashyap. Both of them will be releasing around January or February next year but I will talk about the other two only next year," Ram told IANS in an interview.
Though he appeared in a cameo in Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding" way back in 2001, he will be seen in real meaty roles in his forthcoming films.
So what kept him away from the big screen for so long?
"Earlier the roles that were offered to me were of a brother, friend...the whatever, which was not interesting to me. But now the scripts that are coming up...are so interesting and every character is so awesome. That's the kind of cinema I want to do. So I've signed four," the 36-year-old said.
Ram, who is known for his roles in serials like "Ghar Ek Mandir" and "Kasamh Se" and currently features on NDTV Imagine's "Basera", says he never really felt the need to shift his focus from television to Bollywood so far.
"In my mind, there is no difference between television and films. I know too many people who have left TV and gone to films and today they are nowhere. So instead of taking that risk, I chose to be happy every single day of my life doing what I love, acting. Having said that, the market is changing because of the multiplexes and there's a lot of different, good cinema happening," he said.
According to Ram, differentiated content has done wonders for the small screen too.
"The TV market nowadays is full of variety after many years. Lots of different kinds of programming is working...which is good because the TV industry is growing and channels are willing to take risks," the actor said.
Ram, who recently hosted the much-hyped "Rakhi Ka Swayamvar", is all for reality shows. And he stressed that such shows are meant just for entertainment and therefore audiences shouldn't take them too seriously.
"I don't think reality shows are made for the betterment of society. After all, everything is done for entertainment and the audience also watches them to be entertained. No producer or channel makes a reality show with the idea of taking Indian society to a different level. It's for pure entertainment," he remarked.
The buzz is that the second season of 'Swayamvar' would feature late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan's son Rahul. But Ram did not reveal much about it.
"I'm not at liberty to speak too much about it. I am under contract. But the next swayamvar will definitely happen at a different and much larger scale. But I can't discuss details yet," he said.