On to the small screen

SUCHITRA BEHAL

He had the girls swooning and the guys envious. Actor VINOD KHANNA, who once had Bollywood at his feet, is all set to storm tinsel town after a long hiatus. But this time it’s the small screen.

Khanna is to act in a daily soap with Tulsi Ma (Smriti Irani). Khanna candidly he says that it took Irani “forever” to convince him. What made him agree finally? “Well, the serial is the launch for a new channel. It is being made on a lavish scale, the launch is big and the script is good.” Also he plays the central character as head of the clan, it is “a magnum opus, the story of which I cannot divulge”. Suffice to add that Irani will be his wife in the episode.

Meanwhile since the acting bug seems to have re-bitten him, Khanna is also acting in a film “Fast Forward”. Here he plays the role of a character who teaches dance.

Was it tough to dance after all these years. “No,” replied Khanna, “I can dance and it was fun. It’s an interesting role but the film really belongs to the youngsters..”

He acknowledges the fact that his earlier film did not make waves but blames it on bad packaging. “See, today everything is about marketing and packaging. Mine was a good film… I loved my role, it won me accolades but it didn’t do well at the box office.”

For the time being he’s content to wait for his time on the small screen.