Bindiya Sarkar actor Amit Behl: I didn't come into this industry to be a numero uno, I just wanted to act and keep on doing good work

“Kantilal Bhardwaj is the head of the family and Bindiya (Sonal Khilwani) is his daughter in law. He is from either UP or Bihar, and is a kingmaker, very ruthless and short-tempered. He believes that the woman in the house, whether it’s the daughter or daughter-in-law, has to be always under the man’s control. He is a chauvinist. He cares about his sons but treats his wife very badly. He is violent, and thinks that the police and the entire system can be ruled by him,” the actor explains his character.

Enjoying every bit of being a part of the show, Amit says that the team is like family. While he bonds well with everyone, he is quite close to Sikander Kharbanda, who plays Hari Shankar, Kantilal’s son-in-law.

“I am also close to Dhruv Bhandari (Abhay), Sonal (Bindiya) and Neelu (Barfi Devi). We sit and eat together, and spend more time on the set than with our own families. But yes, with Dhruv and with Sikander, it’s a different bonding. I’ve seen Dhruv as a child because his father, the late Mohan Bhandari was a great actor and I have worked with him during the initial phase of my career. The entire cast is fun, be it Abhilash Chaudhary, Rashmi Gupta or Urvi Gor or Aaditya Vajpayee. They make me feel comfortable and happy,” he adds.

Amit started his journey with the very popular show Shanti. “I was very fortunate to be a part of India’s first forward-thinking daily soap. Since then I have done about 150 serials, 50 plus feature films and web series. I have been a part of Asha Parekh's Kora Kagaz, Farhan Akhtar's Laksh, Bheja Fry2,  Kashmir files, among others. I started my journey on August 15, 1994, when my first show Shanti was aired on DD National,” he takes readers a quick walk down the memory lane.

The best thing about the entertainment industry, according to Amit, “I don't think I want TV to be an industry completely. I like how it is open to everyone who is passionate and ready to work hard. Every day, technology and style changes here. When we started off, there was only a cinema and theatre, then Doordarshan, then private channels came and now we have web, social media, Instagram, YouTube etc. The web is a great place to exist, cinemas are changing, technologies are changing, scripts and international actors are coming to India to work. So, things have broadened up a lot.”

Over the years, Amit has been a witness to many things. We asked him about his learning so far and how the competition affected him.

“In every industry, it is always survival of the fittest. You just need to continue doing good work. You cannot get complacent easily. When you see somebody as senior as Mr. Bachchan, or Naseeruddin Shah or Paresh Rawal or Rajnikant Sir or Kamal Haasan sir or my contemporaries Manoj Bajpayee, or late Irrfan Khan , you have to give your best. And when it comes to competition, if it is healthy, it is great or else I am not a part of it. Within the field of media and entertainment, the product matters at the end of the day. You could do a fabulous job as an actor, somebody could do a fabulous job as a scriptwriter or director, but if the entire product is not good enough, nothing matters. If you've got four films releasing on one particular day, there will be competition. But the point is that you have to treat it as real, if you fail, you learn from your mistakes and move on. You have to also maintain yourself both look and personality wise. Look at people like Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty. They have always maintained their fitness. I didn't come into this industry because I wanted to be numero uno. I just wanted to act, and keep on doing good work. People who recognize the kind of work I've done earlier and my honest effort will always enjoy watching my performance,” he shares.

Watch Bindiya Sarkar, from 7:30pm to 8 pm, on Dangal TV