Want better and serious content on TV: Barun Sobti on his new web series

Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon star Barun Sobti hopes actors shoulder larger responsibility to take television to the next level in India. He talks about the rise of web series being the future.

Barun Sobti is busy shooting for a web series Tanhaiyan. The actor also has three films, which are lined up for release in the next year. Barun, who rose to fame with his super hit TV show Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, hopes producers on the small screen attempt to generate better and different content.

Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon star Barun Sobti hopes actors shoulder larger responsibility to take television to the next level in India.

What appealed to you about a web series?

Web enjoys a certain bit of freedom on content unlike TV shows. Web series cater to the whole world and the reach is wider than TV. One doesn’t have to think about the target audience. There is no restriction on narrative. Today, people are hooked on to digital media and it is the way forward.

read more

I have had an enormous amount of support from my wife: Barun Sobti

I don’t need to justify myself: Barun Sobti

With two short films followed by six online episodes of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon – Ek Baar Phir, you seem to be on a digital wave.

All of them were different than what I had done in the past. There is enormous amount of content out there and it’s watched by people on their phones. One isn’t restricted by time or place unlike watching TV.

You shot for a TV show earlier this year, but it never took off. What happened?

I don’t think I’ll ever know what went wrong. But I feel whatever happens, happens for the best. We had shot just three episodes when the channel pulled the plug. Had we shot a major chunk, it would have been tough for the producers. They are an awesome production house and I hope I get a chance to work with them in the future.

As you had moved to films, was it a difficult decision to return to TV?

Not really. I had other commitments, so I couldn’t take up a daily soap as it is a long-term thing. I am game for finite series on TV. I think there is a larger responsibility towards actors to make television what it should be in India. I would love to take on the challenge. Had it been for me, I would focus on good content. But that would be from my perspective, it can be rubbish content for someone else (laughs). I hope better and serious TV content is created in the years to come. There are some makers who have tried working on shows with different content, but one has to hold their nerves while doing so. What happens mostly is that people ‘attempt’ different subjects; but the start of the new venture is financially heavy, so when it doesn’t give desired results, they change to what usually works.