'Showtime': Is Rajeev Khandelwal's character based on SRK? He reveals
Rajeev Khandelwal, the leading actor of Disney+ Hotstar's Showtime, has dismissed suggestions that his character is modeled after Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. In a conversation with Free Press Journal, Khandelwal clarified, "It represents the kind of stardom that our industry sees and the power the stars hold." Despite viewers drawing parallels between his character and Khan, Khandelwal firmly denied imitating or drawing inspiration from him.
Khandelwal discusses fame and challenges of public life
Khandelwal, while discussing his own relationship with fame, acknowledged a stark difference between himself and his on-screen persona, Armaan. He stated, "There is no similarity between me and my character Armaan, except the fact that we are both actors." "He deals with superstardom, and as for me, I know what fame is. I am not new to fame. So that's probably a similarity. But then, he is very flamboyant, I am not."
Khandelwal advocates for television over film industry
Reflecting on his career transition from television to Bollywood and now OTT platforms, Khandelwal challenged the notion that films are superior to television. He argued that television is more demanding and suggested that if TV ratings were made public like box office numbers, TV actors would be seen as bigger than film actors. "They believe you're a big actor if you work on the big screen. But in reality, you're a good actor if you can work on every screen."
What would Khandelwal change about the industry?
Speaking about what he would change about showbiz, he said, "If I had the power, I would only try and instill some sense in the makers and tell them to be a lot more secure. People call actors insecure, but I think the makers are more insecure. They just follow the waves and trends." "I wish they had a little more security in their ideas and their thoughts."
