Karan Sharma makes the big cut

Mumbai: Sharing screen space with veteran actors such as Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure, and one of television’s favourite bahus Krystle D’souza, while still holding your own, can’t be easy. But that is something Karan Sharma of Ek Nayi Pehchaan has managed to do in his first show (as the lead). Ask him how he pulls it off and he says, “Women rule TV and that is a fact. In Ek Nayi Pehchaan, the story started with my wedding and I think the audience connected with my character. Despite big names, I do get enough screen space and I’m happy about that.”

Karan may be new to television, but he has done a lot of modelling before and is even featured in commercials with Bollywood divas like Madhuri Dixit and Kareena Kapoor. Coming to life offscreen, the actor tells us that hailing from a small town, the journey hasn’t been easy.

He says, “I come from a middle-class family in Dehradun. My father was a subhedar in the Army and most of my family is into farming. I have five sisters and two brothers, and being the second child, I had a lot of responsibilities. I learnt cooking at a young age, since mom would often be away. Since we lived in a hilly area, we had to go to the jungle and cut logs and then cook on the chula (firewood). Now four of my sisters are married and the youngest one is studying. It wasn’t easy leaving everything behind and coming to try my luck in Mumbai. Now my younger brother too plans to try his hand at acting, but I’ve told him it isn’t easy. Bahut papad belne padte hai.”

So does Karan cook for his co-stars too? “Not much for co-stars, but I cook for friends. They love the bharva karela and kadi that I make.” The actor adds, “My dad is a fan of Poonamji and he’s excited to meet her.”