From the rich, sophisticated business tycoon Kunal Sikand with gelled hair, to the rustic, uneducated Haryanvi Kuljeet, to underworld henchman Shaan, Yash Tonk has essayed each one of these roles with remarkable ease and perfection in the edge-of-the-seat suspense thriller Kaahin Kissii Roz on STAR Plus. And Yash is especially good as Kuljeet, the country bumpkin.

Curious to know more about the person behind this three-pronged character, we meet up with him at MK Studio, Chandivli, where the serial is being shot. To begin with, Yash has an intriguing surname, and the actor reveals, “I hail from this village called Tonk in Haryana,” That explains Kuljeet’s perfect accent in the serial.

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After completing his schooling from Haryana, Yash relocated to Delhi for further education. He began modelling, particularly on the ramp while doing his graduation from Delhi’s Bhagat Singh College. “I would do lot of inter-college ramp shows. I’d get awards for the best model or best dressed model and Delhi being a very fashion-oriented city there were immense opportunities. I was picked up for professional shows by the designers.” After graduation, Yash moved to Mumbai about five years ago and continued with modelling. But the acting bug took over and to hone his acting skills, he started doing theatre with well-known theatre personality Makarand Deshpande.

Soon television beckoned, fulfilling his dream to act. Further, he also did a couple of music videos and ad films. “I was always very famous in my school and college. I was an average student in studies, but, I never thought of becoming an actor. I wanted to join the Army or become a cricketer since I was good in sports, “ says Yash in a typical Haryanvi accent. He comes across as a sharp person with alert, agile mind and lot of native intelligence.

So how did acting happen? “It just happened. When you close your mind and shut down all your options what else does one do (laughs). During my college days when I was modelling I decided to get into acting. And whatever I take up I do it very seriously or I don’t touch it, except studies of course. And I always knew that I was more of an actor than a model. Whatever TV commercials I did were performance-oriented. That would give me more satisfaction,” says Yash.

Yash’s very first tele-serial was Tony and Deeya Singh’s Just Mohabbat, followed by Love Mein Kabhi Kabhi. After this he did a couple of projects for Ravi Rai, including Sparsh and Teacher. Then Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms happened and there was no looking back. “After I signed up with Balaji I didn’t find time for outside projects,” Yash explains. Karma was his first serial with Balaji which was telecast on DD1. Then came Kundali and Kahin Kissii Roz.

“Bagging this role in Kahin Kissii Roz wasn’t very easy because I’d been doing very light, teenager sort of roles in serials like Just Mohabbat on Sony and Milte Hain Break Ke Baad on SABe TV. Kahin Kissii Roz was a big break for me, you can say a turning point in my career which has given me recognition. When Ekta called me I was a bit apprehensive. Also, there were others who had doubts whether I’d be able to do the role and look convincing and serious in the mature character of Kunal since I look very young. I’ve always wanted to play someone I’m not. It’s always excited me. I got this offer, I went home and got into the get-up that was described to me. I gelled my hair, wore glasses, tried to look mature and went to the Balaji office. They got my pictures clicked. The results were satisfactory and we began the shoot.”

Talking about his triple role, that of Kunal, Kuljeet and Shaan, Yash says, “I’ve enjoyed playing all the three characters. They have all been very challenging for me. I’ve got a good chance to perform in this serial since there are various shades and colours to these characters. In the beginning, Kunal was a bit negative, always suspecting his wife, then gradually he turns positive. I enjoyed the various shades, from Kunal to Kuljeet and now to Shaan. I’m from the North, a jat from Haryana and therefore it’s been easy for me to slip into the character of Kuljeet. Haryanvi is not a problem for me. The biggest challenge was to project the character of Kuljeet who is in total contrast to Kunal. It was fun because Kunal is shown very stiff, his emotions are stiff, his reactions are stiff. He is almost emotionless, his reactions are wooden, whereas Kuljeet is happy-go-lucky, great fun and an extrovert. I just opened up while doing the character. I guess people have enjoyed this contrast.

Playing one character gets boring after a long period. It’s nice that there has been so much variety in the characterisation,” remarks the actor.

He categorises himself as a spontaneous or an instinctive actor. “I just read the scene and don’t believe in learning my dialogue by heart. I say whatever comes naturally to me and try to keep my emotions correct. I just try to see the character, what the writer has written and conceived and I try to follow it. Only if some additional inputs are required, I add. For instance, for the character Kuljeet, some extra inputs were required. In India actors don’t have time to do any preparation. Actors here are doing five to ten films, daily soaps, four programmes. Scripts are not given in advance. We get our scenes just 15 minutes before the take. It is possible to prepare only if someone is giving you time to do so. Whatever little you have seen of me, say my body language, I’ve worked on that just before the scene,” he explains.

So who does he identify with more, Kunal, Kuljeet or Shaan? Yash chuckles. “None. I cannot identify myself with any of the three characters. I treat them as characters and never compare them with my real self. Yes, sometimes you go through the same experiences or incidents as in reel life but those are incidental. I’m totally different in real life. But I’m doing my job fine and the audience is loving it. So there must be some element of my real character in the reel characters. You can say that the real Yash bends more towards Kuljeet, since I’m always happy in real life and keep tension at bay.”

The next natural step for this television star is to join the bandwagon of Hindi films. He’s currently got three films in his kitty - Balaji’s Kya Pyaar Karoge Mujhse with Tusshar Kapoor and Esha Deol where he plays a negative character, a fun role in Tips’ Ishq Vishq Pyar Vyaar which is video guru Ken Ghosh’s debut film as a director and a character with grey shades in Feroz Khan’s next project, Janasheen with Fardeen Khan and Celina Jaitley.

Doesn’t he wish to play lead roles. “No, no, I don’t want to do lead roles. I would love to do good character roles, whether positive or character,” says Yash, who has been a great fan of Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. “These are the three stars I like. As actors I like Sanjeev Kumar, Balraj Sahni, Motilal, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Paresh Rawal.

However, Yash says that as of now, television gives him more satisfaction than films. Today, he can choose roles on television but not in films. “Beggars can’t be choosers and in films I have to begin from scratch whereas in television, I can pick and choose my roles. Also, in television, we work round the clock while in films it’s chilled out. There are too many breaks making me very anxious. I keep wondering whether work is happening or not whereas in television work is fast and round the clock,” he observes.

However, pointing out one drawback of television, Yash says that the viewers recognise them as the characters they play rather than as real-life people. “Now for instance, they’ve already forgotten Kunal and have Kuljeet in mind,” he points out.

So, how’s aamchi Mumbai treating this northerner? “Mumbai is a beautiful city. I came with nothing and made my career here. I also met my future wife here.” Yash points to actress Gauri Yadav aka Nisha, who plays his bhabhi/sister-in-law in Kahin Kissii Roz. Gauri and Yash are engaged and the wedding date has been fixed for November 17 this year. How does he feel when his fiancee calls him bhaiji in the serial? Yash laughs uproariously. “I don’t think about it. I look at it differently, that I’m getting married to Gauri and not to Nisha. Nisha is just a character.”

While Yash’s comfortable talking about Gauri, he makes it quite obvious that he’s reluctant to speak about his other female co-stars Shaina (Mouli) and his stepmom Ramola (Sudha Chandran). “I get along fine with both of them, but I believe in just doing my job and going home. I treat my co-stars as colleagues. When I’m not shooting I like to spend my free time with my director and cameraman.”

Did Yash ever expect to get famous so soon? “I never expected this fame and fortune to happen, but I’m a very confident person. Whatever I decide to do I do it well and make a mark or else I don’t touch it. My folks, my parents live in Haryana. They are very happy for me. They have always supported me. They watch my serials and I get special comments from them,” he says.

Ask him about the brickbats hurled at some of Balaji’s serials and Yash loyally defends the production house. “It is just a phase. Today maybe Balaji is powerful in the television industry, tomorrow it’d be someone else. Sometime back it was the Adhikari Brothers. People grow and mature with time. Time teaches everyone. Take any big name. If they don’t grow with time they’ll lose everything. Also it is the channel’s responsibility and not the producer’s headache. The channel is approving it and showing it to its audience. They are showing it because the audience is reacting accordingly. If they decide to show a good programme which they feel is socially relevant, and if it’s not accepted by the audience, who will be at a loss - the channel of course. It is a vicious circle,” he explains.

However, he observes impartially, “Personally I feel that we should be making better programmes. Everything is getting so repetitive. Not only Balaji, the others are also doing the same. Now people are copying Balaji. How long will this continue? Finally, people will start rejecting this and then we may have thrillers and everyone would start making thrillers. I think there should be a right balance from the channel’s side. There should be a right mix of children’s programmes, thrillers, sitcoms, family dramas.”

With these words of wisdom, Yash hastily leaves reality behind to be with his screen wife and mother and do what he’s happiest doing - play someone he’s not.

—Seema Sinha