Hiten Paintal: If you want to perform well it has to be a substantial role, be it, negative or lead role or even a comic character

In between, the actor was busy doing films and came back on TV after 14 years.

Hiten shares about his journey so far.

Looking back, Hiten shares that landmark shows and films of his career include Bachna Ae Haseeno, where he played the role of Ranbir’s best friend, Sachin.

“It was a wonderful role. People still recognise me as Sachin. The film did really well, and one of the best films that I had done. The other film was Rascals where I was with Sanjay Dutt sir and Ajay Devgn sir. It was directed by David Dhawan sir. The third film would be Benny and Babloo with KK Menon and Rajpal Yadav,” he adds.

About taking a break from TV, he says, “Actually, the break from television was not done on purpose. While I was shooting Kasauti Zindagii Ki I got offered Bachna Ae Haseeno, and the shooting for that film went for eight long months. After that I got a lot of movie offers so I continued with it as I also knew that TV needed a lot of commitment. So, that’s how I got really busy. In 2016, I did my last film called 30 minutes. We had our own production house so I was busy producing and directing as well.”

However, the show is reportedly going off air. Confirming the news, Hiten says, “The news of its abrupt end was too shocking for all of us because the show was doing very well. We all were heartbroken that it just went off air in four months. We feel we should’ve given ourselves a little chance to prove ourselves. But as everyone says the show must go on, and life too goes on.”

About the experience of doing a daily soap after 14 years, the actor adds, “It was surprisingly amazing and felt very good to be back on TV because. Every person on the set has been wonderful. We’ve had such a great time together which is why I enjoyed it a lot more other than the hectic schedule that daily soaps have. Things are much like what it was before. I don’t think there’s a lot of difference between then and now. When you love and enjoy your work, you don’t really think on those terms.”

Next, Hiten, like always, wants to explore stories and roles that are different and have something new to offer. “If you want to perform well it has to be a substantial role, be it, negative or lead role or even a comic character. You must know what you want. Ambitions are very important to me just like it is for everyone else. At the same time my family comes first and then my ambitions take the second place. But I often don’t express myself,” he adds

The actor has done a web series. Ask him the difference he finds between OTT, Films and TV and he replies, “They are all different mediums. Unlike films or OTT, you have to shoot almost the entire week for a daily soap. On the other hand, OTT has a start and an end shoot, so does films. Also, the budget for films and OTT at once are also more as compared to TV shows.”

One thing that is being noticed about Hiten is that he has always maintained a low profile. “Yes, somewhere it was a personal choice, but also something that happened with me was when I was doing a certain project and had a feeling that whatever happened during the shoot should be handled by the production team. And then soon when I felt I was side-lined, my father and I chose to be in front of the camera and talk about it. But then things didn't work out as we hoped. So, I decided to take a step back since then,” he ends.