Karan Tacker Reveals Why He Quit Daily Soaps For Reality Shows

Karan Tacker enjoys being on stage. And, after hosting multiple reality and award shows, he feels it is fun being live on stage. “Instead of playing a character in a fiction show for two years, representing yourself to an audience is interesting. Hosting a show also means shorter schedules that leave you with more time for yourself,” says Karan who loves being an anchor, as he can “be trendy, fashionable and experiment with clothes”.

He explains, “When you play a fictional role, you have to stick to its theme and look. That is interesting too. I enjoyed playing roles in my three daily soaps. It made me the person and the actor that I am today. Yet, TV can be restrictive.”

Usually, actors want to play a variety of roles and reinvent themselves, not just as a personality, but as an actor too. That’s why the Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai (EHMMBH) actor is glad that there are different seasons and finite series on TV of late, which “give actors the opportunity to play a role for six months and then move on to different one”. Karan says, “Usually, on TV, more often than not, characters are either black or white, or vamp or villain. We rarely find grey roles. My first serial Love Ne Mila Di Jodi ended in nine months, while the next one, Rang Badalti Odhani, wrapped up in a year. But, EHMMBH went on for two years, which is when I realised that playing the same role for so long gets monotonous. That’s why I started hosting reality shows which were interesting and fun.”

Karan is currently focusing on films. So, does this affect the work he gets in the TV industry? “God has been kind to me. I still get good offers for TV serials. But, the genre of shows are mythology or historical or supernatural. So, either you wear a mukut (crown) or become a rakshasa (monster). I think historical shows are a great space for actors to perform. Hrithik Roshan was a gorgeous Akbar in Jodha Akbar (2014). But, it is great if you are playing the role for six months for a film and not 12 hours daily for a year or more. It takes a toll on you.”