Rohit Roy loves Shah Rukh Khan’s style and charm in Paanchavi Pass. Given a chance, he would love to host KBC but films are a priority
What is the reponse for your chat show Inside Bollywood?
I am getting a positive feedback for the show. It is the first time that something like this has been attempted on Indian television. I get a couple of celebrities on the show who discuss one issue that affects the industry. It could be anything from addiction to censorship to sex. So far we have had Sharmila Tagore and Nagesh Kukunoor discussing the importance of censorship, Naseeruddin Shah and Tabu sharing their views on the pros and cons of being a trained/ untrained actor. My favourite episodes include Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty talking about destiny, how Sanjay is destiny’s child and Sanjay Gupta, Madhur Bhandarkar chatting about real Vs reel inspiration.
What was the idea behind this show?
For a long time I had been wanting to do a chat show but never got the time. It was my wife Manasi who suggested we do something on the lines of the Oprah Winfrey Show. We came up with this format. It is among the first Rohit Roy Productions to go on air.

Wouldn’t it have got a wider reach on a general entertainment channel (GEC)?
Definitely. But the way we had designed the show, it suited the profile of Zoom. The channel focuses on Bollywood and lifestyle. However, since the format is mine, I may in future take it to a GEC.

Are you back on television for good?
No. As far as TV is concerned this is my last show. Maybe, if I am offered KBC I will host that. I am a huge fan of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan and loved both the KBCs, though, given a chance, I’ll do it a little differently. Talking about SRK I must say, irrespective of what the ratings are, he is tremendous in …Panchvi Pass.
Though I will not be seen on TV anymore, my company is producing another TV show, this time, a fiction Rang for Zee Next. It is a romantic comedy revolving around three girls and one guy. We have just started shooting for it. It will go on air sometime in mid-June. I must confess that the role being played by Shalin Bhanot, the guy who has the three girls (Chhavi Mittal, Karishma Randhawa, Manasvi) vying for his attention, was something I wanted to do badly. The role was designed on me!

What’s stopping you then?
I am concentrating on films now.

Your next release is Don Muthuswamy, right?
Yes. It’s an out and out comedy with Mithun Chakraborty playing a South Indian Don and me playing his manager. After Shootout At Lokhandwala, where I was one among many, this is a central role for me and I am quite excited about it. Also, it is the first time I am doing comedy in a film. Earlier I have done a comedy series Baat Ban Jaye on TV and I think humour comes naturally to me.

What is the film all about?
Mithun’s character, an extension of his role(South Indian) in Agnipath, is trying to turn into a new leaf. He has promised his father that he will be a good man. But I try to rip him off. Hrishita Bhatt plays his daughter and I have a new girl Anusmriti opposite me. Shooting was fun because all of us on the sets were Bengalis including the producer. It is produced by Shakti Samanta Films.

Any more films in the pipeline?
There’s Mittal Vs Mittal, which is about domestic violence. I have negative shades to my character. Rituparna Sengupta plays my wife. I am looking forward to Alibagh, where for the first time my wife Manasi is my co-star. I play a doctor in the film that traces the lives of nine friends who meet after a period of ten years. It is a beautiful emotional film. I have also signed a film opposite Celina Jaitley that is being produced by Sanjay Gupta. There’s one with Kalpana Lajmi who is directing a film with three simultaneous story tracks.

We’ve heard you are making a film Jazzba based on Woody Allen’s Matchpoint?
Yes, the film is loosely based on Matchpoint. But the title is yet to be finalised. Nandana Sen and me will be playing a married couple and I am in talks with Chitrangadha Singh for the role of the other woman. Let me clarify that this will go on the floors only after I finish directing a film for Sanjay Gupta’s White Feather Films.