Actor Rohit Roy, who has been part of hit television shows like Swabhimaan and Kabhie Kabhie, is now gearing up for his next Bollywood release Kaabil, that co-stars Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam and his elder brother Ronit Roy.

For the small screen audience, actor Rohit Roy will always be remembered for his remarkable roles in all-time acclaimed shows like Swabhimaan and Kabhie Kabhie. Even as Rohit continues to make brief appearances on television, none of his recent roles match up to the impression left by those of the ’90s. In an exclusive interview to indianexpress.com, Rohit admits that as much as the fans miss him on TV, the truth is that substantial roles for male actors on the small screen in the current times, are few and far between.

“Television cannot afford male actors very good and varied roles. There are just few actors, who have gotten lucky with great characters like me and my brother Ronit (Roy), who got an iconic role like Rishabh Bajaj in Kasautii Zindagi Kay. But such are few and far between. There’s a huge difference between the kind of roles male actors get in films and what we get on television,” the actor said.
Rohit’s admissions explain his lesser small screen appearances lately and why he has been giving more attention to Hindi and Bengali cinema.

Right now, the actor is gearing up for the release of his big Bollywood film, Kaabil, which co-stars Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam and his elder brother Ronit Roy. The film, which releases on January 25, has been produced by Rakesh Roshan and directed by Sanjay Gupta, with whom Rohit previously worked in Plan and Shootout at Lokhandwala.

The Roy brothers last shared screen space in TV show Sarkarr that aired in between 2005-2006. This is the second time they are appearing together. Rohit calls their casting in Kaabil, a masterstroke by Sanjay.

“We play brothers in the film. It is definitely a masterstroke by Sanjay Gupta because all the emotions that we had to portray in the movie, we didn’t have to act them. They came naturally to us. Like, there’s a scene where I had to greet him by touching his feet, so that felt natural. Then, there’s another sequence where he sees me dead, so, the way he’s reacted it came from within. I don’t think if other actors were involved, it wouldn’t have come out like this.”

Having his elder brother Ronit as a co-actor in Kaabil was a significant experience for Rohit, as he learnt a lot from the actor, who is much senior to him in the profession. Rohit, however, maintains that there was never a moment when he felt intimidated by Ronit.

“Ronit’s personality and aura is such that yon can get intimidated by him but it wasn’t the case with me. I respect him a lot and he is a terrific actor but I can never get nervous around any actor, but Amitabh Bachchan. I am very secure as a performer. Also, I directed my first film (short movie Rice Plate, which was a part of the anthology film Dus Kahaniyaan) with renowned actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. So that feeling of nervousness is never there,” Rohit said.

Credits: indianexpress.