Credited with almost single-handedly creating a boom on the small screen about two decades ago, Ronit Roy is now also making an impact on the web. Season 3 of Kehno Ko Humsafar Hain, now streaming on long-time collaborator Ekta Kapoor’s AltBalaji, has won Ronit unanimous praise, even as he continues to leave a mark on his film roles. The Telegraph caught up with the 54-year-old actor on his time on the web, how TV can evolve and the story behind his globally viral ‘DIY mask’ video.

You’ve played Rohit Mehra, a man of various shades, across three seasons of Kehno Ko Humsafar Hain, and received a lot of praise for the part. Are the reactions from the audience for this season anything different?

It’s a varied reaction. Some people are very pleasantly surprised with my look. On screen, I have mostly been seen in suits, so they are liking this younger, more grungy look. Also, they are saying that in all the three seasons, this season has seen my best performance by far. So it’s been an extremely positive response overall.

What was the mindset like getting into Season 3 of a successful show? Did you feel the show doing well in the first two seasons has taken most of the pressure off?

I am a follower of stoicism. Successes don’t get me overtly elated and failures don’t bog me down too much. Of course, I am human and so it does have a little bit of an effect on me. I am happy when people like my work. And when they don’t — which hasn’t happened in the last 20 years, thankfully — then I am sure I won’t get bogged down by it. When I get into a show, whether it’s the second season or the third season, my preparation for it is the same as the earlier seasons.

Have you evolved into this person who is unflappable in the face of success or failure or did you gradually evolve into this state of mind?

I was born a little detached. But this is also something that you have to evolve into... you can’t be born a Siddharth (Gautam Buddha). This is something that I am still practising and evolving into... I haven’t reached the top rung completely. I am still not completely immune to what goes on around me. I am an actor and somewhere I have to hold on to my emotionality. That’s a major part of my craft. Having said that, I can say that I have learnt to digest both my failures and successes well. I know how to take them in my stride.

Rohit Mehra is not a likeable character. Do you find it tough to not judge the people that you play?

I don’t judge anybody or anything... I am not judgmental by nature. I definitely form an opinion, but I keep my opinions to myself most of the time. I always look for reasons ‘why’... so, it’s like giving the devil the benefit of the doubt. I do the same with my characters. In Season 3 of Kehno Ko Humsafar Hain, there is a very strong reason for what he does, given where he’s coming from. There’s a lot of baggage that he carries. More than grey, it’s a very complex character. People who are jilted choose different ways of escapism. There are some who plunge to the lowest level, some fight back, some resign themselves.... But then people do evil because they are simply just evil. But such people are very rare. Most people have humanity in them... they go off the rails for a reason, whether it’s physical, psychological, mental or emotional or two or three of them put together.

You ushered in a new era on TV and even in films, in your second innings, you’ve done some stellar parts. How do you view the web?

I’ve done just two web series (Kehno Ko Humsafar Hain and Hostages). I am happy and, of course, I look forward to doing more content on OTT. I look forward to doing more complex characters. But I am not content, I am always striving for more to add to my legacy, so to speak. I am happy with the people I have worked with, because that’s where my second innings began, with Balaji (Telefilms) and STAR TV. I am now doing OTT again with Balaji and Ekta (Kapoor) and with Applause (Entertainment) with Sameer Nair, who headed STAR at one time. So, I am basically working with the same people. There’s been a bridge built over the last 20 years. They are dear friends and there is a comfort factor as well as mutual respect. I am very happy about that.

The web does allow you to reach out to a wider spectrum of viewers as opposed to the narrowness of a certain kind of Indian TV audience...

That’s true. There is a lot of talent in every department in our industry. Some of that talent was not getting work in cinema and they didn’t want to do TV because, as you rightly said, television in this country is made for a certain kind of audience. TV is also a long-term commitment, and in the daily (telecast) space, some content can be really watered down. For them, OTT presents an excellent opportunity to showcase their talent. Some of them are now doing very well. Web has brought in employment as well as freedom of expression. OTT has also given them the credence to move on to cinema.

Does TV still excite you?

In its current state, no.

What needs to change?

A lot needs to change, a lot needs to stay constant. TV has its set audience that likes a certain kind of programming. TV has come full circle in the last two decades. It boomed in the early 2000s with the saas-bahu shows and with Kaun Banega Crorepati and with various other reality shows. On OTT, there is better quality of writing, of course, than TV and more investment from every department into the show.

On TV, instead of doing an unending run of three-four years, I hope there will now be seasons, like on OTT. Seasons on TV could be of about 50-60 episodes over three months. Or it could be a Saturday-Sunday thing. The next season could return in about 10 months or a year... pretty much what happens with TV in the West. Every TV channel has its own (web) portal now and once it’s made on TV, it could go on OTT, which we already see happening with some long-running shows. This helps to create a bridge between TV and OTT. That guarantees revenue coming in from two avenues, as opposed to one. That interests me, and I see that happening in the near future.

Some film and TV shoots have already started. Are you ready to get back to work soon?

I am more than ready to get back to work. I think everybody is ready to get back to work. The virus is not going to go away soon, the cases are increasing every day. Historically speaking, viruses don’t go away... they just go dormant and then resurface. So people don’t have a choice but to get back to work. Of course, the safety parameters have been established, but there is still no way to test asymptomatic people. Someone who isn’t visibly sick is the real danger. When people are working, they tend to overlook a lot of things.

I have been thinking about this, in terms of the little things that go into a shoot. Starting from our vanity vans to sets to the furniture we sit on and the properties we touch. Actors being in close proximity has a risk element. But one can work around that. Apart from scenes that have sexual overtones, scenes between characters can be shot by maintaining a certain distance. But it’s, honestly, going to be tender-footing into the whole process. Take each day as it comes. Some people will invariably get the virus, but our recovery rate is high. So it’s something we need to keep an eye on and reinvent as we go along.

In the early days of the pandemic, you came up with a video on how to make a DIY mask using a T-shirt, which was shared widely. In the last few weeks, the video has gone viral and become a global phenomenon with protestors at ‘Support George Floyd’ rallies around the world following your video to make masks to cover their faces while at these protests. Did you see that coming?

I wasn’t really surprised because people were talking about it even earlier and a highly-placed medical professional had also retweeted it with a favourable comment. People were retweeting from various countries. This is something that just attached itself to the George Floyd (who was killed by a cop in the US recently, sparking off widespread outrage) protests.

How did you come up with it?

Everything has an inspiration. If you are wearing a T-shirt and you go into a smoky environment, then you spontaneously pick up the front of the tee and put it on your nose. There you go... it’s that simple! (Laughs)

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