Purab Kohli on playing host and still rocking.. interviewed by Nikhil Taneja
'Knights and Angels' wraps up tonight.. looking back, was it an easy decision to take on such a show considering there are 24 girls?
(Laughs) You know, the first time they called me, I said, “No,” because I didn’t want to get back to hosting. But when I heard the concept, I liked three things about it – Shah Rukh Khan is involved, it was a short stint and (smiles) then of course, the girls. It’s always good to work around women!
What does your wife, Yamini, have to say on this?
(Laughs loudly) I don’t think there was a reaction, but come to think of it, she may have passed some comment like, “Oh that sounds like fun.. so many girls!” But she knows I’m not going to run behind 24 of them. (Grins) Even though it is tempting!
Have you figured out why they asked you to host a show that selects cheerleaders for a cricket team?
They said they didn’t need an anchor but someone who could strike a personal chord with the girls. When I shot the show, it made sense. The girls became my friends. They’d turn to me whenever they were asked a question.. also they’d want my feedback after every performance. Our camaraderie translated well on screen.
Was it difficult turning down TV offers after Channel [V]?
Channel [V] was my comfort zone. It was me sitting on a couch with my feet up. Five years later, I’d made a deal with them: I would work four days a month and if a new show came up, we’d adjust. Two years passed, and we couldn’t mutually agree on a new show. They asked me to come back as a full time VJ. That’s when I decided to part ways. Suddenly, I was like, whoa, pushed off the couch and on my own two feet! A month later, I met Abhishek (Kapur) and the next thing I knew, I was doing a movie called Rock On!!
Was it difficult turning down TV offers after Channel [V]?
Channel [V] was my comfort zone. It was me sitting on a couch with my feet up. Five years later, I’d made a deal with them: I would work four days a month and if a new show came up, we’d adjust. Two years passed, and we couldn’t mutually agree on a new show. They asked me to come back as a full time VJ. That’s when I decided to part ways. Suddenly, I was like, whoa, pushed off the couch and on my own two feet! A month later, I met Abhishek (Kapur) and the next thing I knew, I was doing a movie called Rock On!!
I would ask you how’s life post-Rock On!! but there just seems to be no ‘post’ Rock On!!
(Chuckles) Yeah, it’s a joke everyone is cracking now.. “Oh my God! Not another Rock On!! party!” I think the party will continue for the rest of the year because of all the award shows. Post Rock On!!, what has really changed for me is that my the industry is finally taking notice of me.. commercially.
So you’re getting more leads now?
Yes.. several.. it’s scary. I had a lead in my first film, Bas Yun Hi. After that, I started doing bit parts. Now, I feel that if someone comes to watch a movie after seeing my face on the poster, I had better make sure they like it.
You got mobbed during a concert in Dubai recently.
When you are on stage at a rock concert, you feel like a rockstar.
A live audience screaming, “Aaarrgh!”It’s amazing! (Laughs) Yeah, in Dubai, I think I instigated the ‘mobbing’. I started singing and unbuttoning.. then I jumped off the stage!
You were recently voted as one of the Sexiest Men Alive.
(Chuckles) Yeah man.More than the money, you thrive on appreciation. Recently I got a critics award at a function.
What made me happiest was the audience reaction. It felt like they all wanted me to win. That was an award in itself!
It feels good that I’m considered sexy. (Laughs) Though I always used to think that I was sexy.. but the world is waking up to that now.
So you’re living the dream now?
(Smiles) I have a lot of dreams.. I’ve lived some of them. I can see the goal now.. which is to be a saleable Hindi film hero.
How I get there will make my life interesting. I know that the business is such that tomorrow I may have to accept a lower fee, I am ready for that too.