Karan singh Grover Picture by Aranya Sen

He is the cool dude of Indian television. From Mumbai to Malaysia, he has the girls screaming for him. Actor Karan Singh Grover is TV’s new pin-up boy. In town to shoot for a jewellery ad (yes, you read that right!), the doctor from Dill Mill Gaye spoke to t2…

Is this your first trip to Calcutta?

I was here last year to collect an award. But being in Calcutta is a great feeling. I have been here less than 24 hours, but the warmth that everyone in this city exudes has made me very comfortable. It’s unfortunate that this time around I haven’t had the chance to see anything of Calcutta.

Does your fondness for the city have anything to do with the fact that you have a large female fan following here?

Well, maybe (laughs). I do get a lot of fan mail from the city. And whenever I am here, I am always happy to see that people recognise me, that they appreciate my work. Even now, I have been ‘kidnapped’ by two lovely Calcutta girls — Angelina and Kasvei — who were present at the shoot and are insisting that they have to drop me to the airport!

Your character in Dill Mill Gaye is a cool dude and a true blue romantic. Given your conventional good looks and easy charm, do you think there is a danger of being typecast in that mould?

Good looks and easy charm make me a hero, right? And who wouldn’t want to be typecast as a hero? (Laughs). As far as I am concerned, I am extremely happy with the kind of adulation and appreciation that I have been getting for my character and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

You are now hosting the celebrity dance show Zara Nachke Dikha on STAR One. What’s easier —acting or anchoring?

I love both and I am equally comfortable in both roles. However, I must admit that initially I had a huge problem reading out from a teleprompter. I am a very spontaneous performer and doing something like that was a bit uncomfortable. However, now I have been given a lot of freedom on the show and I would like to think that I am doing a better job (smiles).

Unlike most of your contemporaries, you haven’t really jumped on to the saas bahu bandwagon yet…

Now that’s something that I really can’t relate to. It’s not that I haven’t tried my hand at the genre, but I was very uncomfortable and the audience could see that I wasn’t comfortable. A saas bahu serial is not something that I can see on my acting CV.

What about a film on that CV?

Films is a natural progression from television and I am definitely among those who would like to see myself in a film. But nothing substantial and interesting has come my way yet. As I said earlier, I wouldn’t really like to do anything that I can’t relate to.

One learns that you are quite a movie buff. Any recent film you wish you would have loved to be a part of?

Oooh.. Hancock most definitely. Would love to have been a superhero flying around and beating up the baddies!