ANY GIVEN Saturday

ROHIT SARAF SURE MADE TANISHA BHATTACHARYA'S WEEKEND COME ALIVE WHEN HE FINALLY SAT DOWN FOR AN INTERVIEW. EXCERPTS FROM AN ENGAGING CHAT

-  TANISHA BHATTACHARYA

Rohit Saraf is clearly a busy man. The number of times this interview has been rescheduled bears testimony to that. I finally ensnare him on a rainy Saturday evening. He apologizes promptly for constantly rescheduling the interview. There’s sincerity in his tone so everything is instantly forgiven as we ease into a heartfelt conversation. The actor is known for his roles in films like Dear Zindagi and The Sky Is Pink, and is currently riding high on the success of Ishq Vishk Rebound. Tell him he’s arrived and he shakes his head. “I’m not trying to sound humble, but I still don’t feel that I’ve arrived. One would think that I’ve done a show like Mismatched, where both seasons have done phenomenally well. I’ve been a part of some extremely successful films. Ishq Vishk Rebound is getting so much love from everywhere. But I’m not there yet. When I walk into a room with a lot of accomplished people, I still feel very under confident and then when I receive a lot of love I gather my confidence from that,” he says candidly.

There’s no taking away from the fact that his female fans find him extremely hot. Tell him that and he instantly perks up. “Oh wow, it makes me extremely happy. Initially, I was a bit unsure where all of this was coming from. I used to get a lot of love for my characters like Kiddo from Dear Zindagi but I think I started experiencing this kind of fanfare after Mismatched. It took me a little time to come to terms with the fact that I’m now someone who is loved by those many people. Over the years, I’ve started to use it as my strength, I’ve started to use it as something that drives me to work harder.”

His penchant for diverse roles, from The Sky Is Pink to Vikram Vedha, highlights his courage to experiment early in his career. Talking about