Rajeev Khandelwal makes for a curious case study. A decade ago, he had the entire nation swooning with his lover boy act as Sujal in Ekta Kapoor’s romantic drama Kahiin Toh Hoga. And just when he had the world at his feet, he left it all for smaller roles on lesser known television channels. The fact that the TRPs of Kahiin Toh Hoga dipped after his exit spoke volumes about Rajeev’s popularity and his connect with the audience. Unfortunately, since then, Rajeev has never been able to replicate that success neither on the small screen nor on the larger one. Quiz Rajeev about the same and the actor says, “I am not a businessman who thinks of replicating his success wherever he goes. I don’t think about my career from the point of view of success. If I had been greedy about success, fame and money, then I wouldn’t have left my first show ever. I was then in a position to demand any kind of money and also in a position to pick up production houses. But I decided to do a show called Time Bomb on Zee which bombed again. Even then I had this entire image of being a romantic hero. But I chose to explore a different role on a smaller channel called SAB through Left Right Left. And I can proudly say today that it worked. People loved my work. Now you would ask why I worked with smaller channels when I had the option of doing shows on bigger channels whose reach would have been wider? That’s because in my head I had decided that make a show work on a smaller channel. The victory is sweeter then. When I entered Bollywood everyone expected me to make a romantic debut. But Aamir happened and I did it because I loved the script. And the success of Aamir taught me to go with the flow. Go by your thinking and identify with your thinking. Why should an actor do only commercial films? It’s time to remove those blinkers. Even different films can work today.” Even though Rajeev took a gamble when he was at his prime in television, he refuses to accept the tag of being a risk taker. “I don’t agree with this term of being a risk taker. I go by my instincts. At times, I have failed like everyone else and then I have risen. I am still here. You can say that I don’t shy away from taking risks.” It’s been a decade since he first shot as Sujal but the memories are still alive deep within his heart and he treasures them fondly. Remembering the days of yore, Rajeev says, “Sujal still resides in my heart. One can never forget his first love, his first crush, his first kiss…No one can forget the firsts of their life. Even I can’t ever forget Sujal. The day I forget it, it would mean I am getting old.” Rajeev has hitherto shied away from essaying romantic roles on the silver screen but not anymore. And the decision has been made at the behest of his female fans who want to see their favourite ‘Sujal’ star in a romantic genre. “I have consciously decided to accept roles that are romantic in nature. All my fans want to see me in one and I am thankful to them for not forgetting me even after 10 long years. But then again, I don't want to do a clichéd romcom. I am looking for something more soulful,” says Rajeev. Well, we hope Rajeev finds something soulful soon enough in Bollywood.