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 He
has a small role in Company and will soon be seen in Mahesh
Manjrekar’s Pratibimb and Feroz Khan’s Janasheen.
Currently he’s playing a significant role in Justujoo.
For Harsh Chaya, the going couldn’t have been better.
When I look
back, I feel so naive, little knowing that my dream of becoming
an actor will become a reality.” reminisces Harsh Chaya. That’s
exactly what happened to Harsh, who was passionate about acting
from an early age. Harsh landed in Mumbai in the year 1992 with
a Masters in Mass Communications. It was during this course that
he learnt the intricacies of TV production, scripting, direction
and other subjects related to filmmaking. He smiles recollecting
his earlier days.
Harsh started
acting when he was in class sixth. As he grew, his passion became
stronger. Having been brought up in Kharagpur and Delhi, Harsh was
fortunate to have his architect father encourage him to fulfill
his dreams. When he finished his Masters, he did Khali Haath, a
13-episode serial, which was telecast on DD in 1991. He avers that
he had to struggle to get the break but since then has never looked
back. For almost four years Harsh assisted various filmmakers writing
scripts, lending voice to radio programmes and “what not? All
these four years, I was thinking whether I really wanted to act
or it was just my infatuation towards this creative field? When
I finally decided, Tara happened and since then I have done 15-20
serials till date.” Harsh is very choosy about his roles and
has no regrets about not doing a large number of serials like his
contemporaries. “I believe in being remembered as a good actor,”
he says.
Tara gave Harsh
a strong platform because after Tara, he went onto grab some of
the best roles in serials like Swabhimaan and Hasratein to name
a few. Recalls the actor, “In Hasratein I play the character
of KT, a guy who loses his sense of recognising people at times.
KT will perhaps go down as my most memorable role because in real
life I had known a person with similar disability and that helped
me to perform the role of KT to a perfect T.” More often than
not, Harsh has been labelled as a difficult actor to work with.
“I trust in doing good work. I never double cross my directors
or producers and I am very punctual. Besides, I am very straightforward.
These things got me the image of a difficult actor, don’t you
think that it’s strange? At times, some of my producers didn’t
even pay me for my work. When I went to ask for the payments, instead
of paying me they spread the rumour that I am really difficult to
work with, “says he sounding puzzled. He claims that he is
happy working with people who know him well and share a good bond.
So does he feel the industry is to be blamed for his image? He just
shrugs his shoulders, smiles and says, “I guess I have to learn
to be diplomatic, which is so unlike me.”
Presently,
Harsh is playing a lawyer Lalit Sharma in Ajai Sinha’s Justujoo.
Married to Leela (Pallavi Joshi) and having two kids, he falls head
over heels in love with his sister-in-law Nirja (Arpita Pandya).
Harsh explains, “Justujoo is a beautiful serial. The story
of Justujoo is real and about a man who gives into temptation even
though he’s married and has two kids. We have conceptualised
various happenings to dramatise the situation and incidents. The
character of Lalit Sharma has beautiful shades for an actor to perform
and I must confess that I am really lucky to act in this serial.
The unit is good and comfortable to work with. Ajai Sinha is a very
focused director and knows what he wants from his actors. That makes
our job much more easier.” Even though the subject of the serial
is controversial “it’s happening in our society.”
So is he enjoying being Lalit Sharma? Harsh smiles and says, “I
like the character because Lalit is an intelligent person, who’s
sure of himself. On the other hand, I hate the character because
he gets carried away and gives into temptation. Lalit is a very
selfish man who points fingers at others for his mistakes. I am
enjoying being a multi-faceted character. It’s a challenging
role and I really like the way the serial is proceeding.”
About his co-stars
in the serial, Harsh says, “It’s wonderful to work with
Pallavi Joshi. She’s amazing, as a person and an actress. Arpita
is very impressive considering she’s still new and has a lot
to learn. She has put in a lot of efforts and one can see her devotion.
About the director, the less said the better because Ajai is a very
passionate filmmaker. He’s bold in his approach and strong
in his conviction. The two kids are good and very loving.”
Harsh is currently
doing only Justujoo and has played a small role in Ram Gopal Verma’s
Company. He adds, “I have a small role in Company. In addition,
I am doing a small role in Mahesh Manjrekar’s Pratibimb, Feroz
Khan’s Janasheen and E Niwas’ Dum. They are all small
roles and I not counting on it. However, they re significant roles.
I still have a long way to go.” What about the future then?
He confides, “I may direct a movie or two!”
—Johnny
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