Zee TV continues to surprise the viewers with its shows. Its latest offering, a non-fiction show “I Can Do That” seems to be hitting the bull’s eye in the initial days itself. It is a varied show where the contestants, including 12 celebrities from various walks of life, are supposed to be not just able dancers but also acrobats who can come through a fire ring like a circus artist or even do magical tricks. Leading the charge is Gurmeet Choudhary, a martial art black belt. Gurmeet took a few questions from The Hindu on the sidelines of a press conference in Noida recently.
Most guys want to be a hero in Bollywood. What made you choose television over cinema?
I also wanted to start my acting career with films but luckily I met Yash Chopra ji who told me to start with television and said, ‘Television is going to be a big thing in the next five years, give your best and you will be picked by filmmakers from there’, and look, here I am doing films now.
You have been a fairly well known face on television. How has been the experience of acting in Hindi as well as Tamil serials?
I started with a Tamil serial “Mayavi” in.2006. It was highly appreciated and was one of the most watched serials in Asia. Then I did some Hindi serials like “Ramayana”, “Geet” and “Punar Vivaah”, all of them had been hit shows. “Punar Vivaah” has been dubbed into English and is very popular in South Africa. I must say that I enjoyed every bit.
“I Can Do That” is a completely different show from daily soaps. What made you choose it ahead of other serials?
I have done daily soaps, dance reality shows. In fact I have also won “Jhalak Dikhla Ja” and was runner-up in “Nach Baliye”. I have also hosted shows. Now I wanted to do something different. When I was offered this I refused but when I was told about the format of the show I was impressed as it is completely different from what I have already done and the best part is that it is just a five week affair.
The show has a lot of eye catching stunts. How difficult was it to carry them off?
The stunts in “I Can Do That” are really difficult and a bit dangerous, coming from an army background and a black belt I find it them not too difficult though. We have trainers who guide us, we get only four-five days to learn and rehearse, even our trainers say that what we do in such little time, others take five to six months. This kind of appreciation motivates us. I am sure that the audiences will be going to sit on the edge of their seats.
What after “I Can Do That”?
I am doing films and have stopped doing daily soaps. My next film which has not been named yet, has just started so I will be busy with it. I will let you know more about it very soon.
