Kyunki Star Hiten Tejwani Recalls Ekta Promised Him "Something Bigger" After Kutumb Success: "She Said Don't Worry..."
But before the actor established himself as a key character in the popular soap opera's run in the 2000s, Hiten Tejwani shot to fame and caught the fancy of many women as the bratty but debonair Pratham in Kutumb, at a time when bad boys were still in vogue.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, the actor revealed the inside story of how he was cast in Kyunki during the TV show's original run by producer Ekta Kapoor who also backed Kutumb, which ran from 2001 to 2003.
From Kutumb To Kyunki
Hiten Tejwani said he joined Kyunki "very late" in 2002, two years after the show went on air.
"I got in with the new generation (of Kyunki) because I was doing Kutumb. One day, Ekta called me into her office and said, 'After Kutumb, I want you to do something big. Don't worry, I'll give you something big. We'll do something bigger. Tomorrow onwards, you're doing Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi '," the actor told NDTV.
The actor, now 51, said he asked no questions and knew nothing about the character he was supposed to play in Kyunki.
"So, I would just reach the set and used to figure out (about my character) from the creatives or the EP or the story. Slowly, slowly, I got to know about Karan and it developed into one of the best characters and best roles I've done," he added.
Hiten Tejwani - The Millennials' Crush
The actor wears his stardom lightly, more so the label of the crush of several millennials. Asked how he dealt with all the female attention that came his way, especially in the 2000s, Hiten Tejwani said, "It was lovely. It feels that I'm doing something right, that people are loving me so much... That you're getting so much love back.
"Even today, when many of those fans meet me, they say, 'You were my crush'. So, I jokingly ask them, 'Was? What do you mean?' But I understand, people also move on. It's understandable and natural. I am happy that those people are still my fans," he added.
Hiten Tejwani And Gauri Pradhan - Reel To Rea l
Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan first shared the screen in Kutumb as enemies-to-lovers Pratham and Gauri. Later, in Kyunki, they were paired opposite each other, this time as Karan and Nandini, who eventually get married after initial hurdles (Read Ansh Gujral, played by Akashdeep Saigal).
Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan, who are now married for over 20 years with two children, have reprised their roles as Karan and Nandini in Kyunki 's second season.
It is comfortable to work with his real-life and reel-life wife Gauri Pradhan, said Hiten Tejwani.
"The best part is it's still the same, how we used to be. What you call chemistry, it has to be inbuilt. If you have to plan it, it becomes mechanical. Earlier also, it used to just happen. For us, it's still the same. She understands me, I understand her. I know how she's going to react and act. We are lucky like that."
Response Of New Generation Audiences To Kyunki Season 2
It's been a week since Kyunki' s second season started premiering on Star Plus and JioHotstar and Hiten Tejwani said he doesn't know how the new generation viewers will react to the show which was a cultural phenomenon in its heyday.
"We cannot judge or we cannot go to people asking, 'What do you think?' We don't know right now (how the show will be received)... You cannot be confident about it that they are going to love it...
"By the messages I have received, everybody is excited for it, that is what they have been saying. That they want to watch it... There are so many fans who message me that 'I have shown this to my daughter, my son so that we'll know what Kyunki was all about'. But we don't know what's going to happen," he added.
Hiten Tejwani is surely back in the limelight as Karan Virani with the second season of Kyunki and those who don't know why he was so popular on television in the 2000s will get their answer now.
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