Yash Tonk. Picture by Aranya Sen

Afternoon slots on Indian television are the safest. There is not much competition to tackle,” smiled small-screen actor Yash Tonk. Perhaps not the best words to use on the occasion — for Tonk was in town last Monday to promote STAR Plus’s afternoon slot in general called STAR Dopahar — and his daily soap Karam Apnaa Apnaa (shown Monday to Friday at 2pm), in particular.

A tired Tonk was, however, his usual ebullient self as he fielded questions from the media. This, after a hectic day visiting “at least 10-odd homes” of city television viewers — the winners of the Star Lagao, Apne Star Ko Ghar Pao contest — in association with The Telegraph.

Like Yash, other popular television actors whose serials are shown in the afternoon slot on STAR Plus — Hussain, Juhi Parmar and Pallavi Subhash — will visit different cities and interact with viewers in a bid to popularise the slot even further.

“Karam Apnaa Apnaa has been on air for the past one year and only recently has it been shifted to the afternoon slot. In spite of the change in timing, its TRP ratings have remained more or less consistent,” emphasised Yash who came sporting what he referred to as the “Shiv” look (Shiv, for the uninitiated, is one of the characters that Yash plays in Karam Apnaa Apnaa). Dipping TRPs or not, Balaji favourite Yash has been having a ball playing Shiv, a role earlier essayed by Iqbal Khan. “This role has given me tremendous scope as an actor — I have played a double role and a triple role in the serial. I have even acted as a woman in a couple of episodes,” laughs Yash.

With only Karam Apnaa Apnaa in hand — “I shoot 30 days a month for the serial” — Yash is now looking forward to the release of Kissey Pyaar Karoon, a Bollywood romantic caper in which he shares screen space with Arshad Warsi, Ashish Chaudhary and Udita Goswami.