The talented thespian Praneet Bhat is currently enjoying the claim for his portrayal of Darius in the historical-drama Porus. Till date he is best known for his portrayal of Mama Shakuni in Mahabharat (2013) on Star Plus and his participation in controversial reality show Bigg Boss 8. Praneet who started his TV career in 2004 has come a long way. The way he carries himself, the way he has transformed with his body and his looks is a testimony of the same.

In an exclusive conversation with TellyChakkar, the 37 year old actor spoke at length about his character, his journey and the popular show Bigg Boss.

Talking about his character Praneet says, “This role is one up from what I’ve done in the past. He comes as a traitor and takes advantages of India’s internal problems and then betrays it. Siddharth (the director) wanted me to underplay this character and not overdo it like a joker.”

In his over a decade long journey, Praneet has already been part of four costume dramas - Arslaan, Mahabharat, Razia Sultan and currently Porus. Nonetheless, the actor doesn’t feel that he is being stereotyped.

He says, “I don’t think I have got stereotyped. Post Mahabharat, thankfully, Bigg Boss happened where the audience got to see the real me. I’ve always been searching for roles that will break the image. I get a kick by playing different characters. In fact, during the climax of Mahabharat I happened to mention it to Sidharth that we now need to work on a character better than this. He said that I have and this was it.

Praneet’s character comparisons are drawn with an extremely popular character - Lord Varys from Game Of Thrones.

“We are not mesmerized by any show. This character is very original, it is written by the director. I didn’t take any reference from any other show,” he comments.

Despite being part of various shows and playing characters with different traits, Praneet’s hunger is still on. “My hunger in life is to attempt different and unique characters. I want to do something that I have never done before. Fantasy shows are anyways hectic and take a toll on one’s body.”

While talking to Praneet one can’t just go without mentioning Bigg Boss. His stint in the notorious reality series made him an overnight star. On the same he reverts, “Kanchan, my wife is an avid follower of the show. She is a huge fan and Shilpa is her favorite. My favourite is Salman (laughs).”

“Everyone is playing games in the current season. I feel you should put P3G (Praneet, Puneet, Pritam and Gautam collectively called P3G) in the house and we’ll bring everyone back on track. We’ll teach them what Bigg Boss is. I think it’ll be fun if the Quadra is in the show we’ll make them crazy. We’ll teach them in our own way,” he concludes.