D ick Olson once remarked that he had learned not to judge people by the way they looked or what they were doing. Television taught us the same; there is a plethora of successful actors with management, finance, fashion, engineering degrees to back up their careers. It beats us at times to find actors rich in cerebral content parading their faces before the camera in warped soaps: and being happy about it! Karan Grover is another addition to our list of "what are you doing here?"

He's the current face of Meri Aawaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni, with the fight sequence and the jealous in love track. In fact we have received quite some fan mail for the lad. So how does he like the change from Arjun Goenka of Saarthi? "Honestly, I got to know it from you today that Raj is appreciated. I have been shooting for fifteen hours a day at a stretch, so haven't had the time to check on how I am performing."

The soap is taking shape as Raj now realises his love for Sudha, "Yes, Raj opened with being too cool to fall in love and when it hit him, he doesn't know how to react.' Karan elaborates on how his character will shape up, "Raj is now in the realisation phase and he will find a way to vent that anger of confusion of emotions. He will beat up Mihir who is getting possessive over Sudha and then probably confront his emotions."

He quit Saarthi after 520 episodes to dedicate his time for Meri Awaaz his new found affection. After shuttling between the two shows for about two months he took a tough call, Karan wistfully answers, "It wasn't an easy task, I would shuttle between the sets and the team of Saarthi was made to do night shifts because of me, the dates clashed, they had to change the story every week, the scenes were delayed, the bank and finally the performances suffered. It kept eating into me and I felt really guilty about it. And I was in every scene for those 520 episodes, after that I was saturated with Arjun." So he found a simpler solution, he went ahead and spoke to the producer to relieve him than put them through continual trouble.

Sudha aka Ashima is the roshni of the show, he being her lead man, how is their equation? "It's wonderful, as we gel with ease; she spends more hours at work and doesn't crib about it, even though she is a girl! I am not like other actors who can do two and three shows simultaneously as leads. It s not my cup of tea and with Ashima putting in 18 hours a day, rehearsals and then the shoot: all of it consumes time." For the uninitiated, they shoot elaborately on the Meri Aawaaz… sets as the show is close to every body's heart.

Karan adds, "It's a different show; the kind that TV has been waiting for. It has music and drama and is more inclined to realism. For me I expect Meri Aawaz… to do really well, as the show is sold to the story. It's most organised and we have five to seven episodes of hard bound script with every scene and set moves. It's the kind of change in TV programming that we have wanting."

With a new show riding on his shoulders, a character that's soaring popularity; his degree in chemical engineering and event management course the followed can be easily forgotten. Or as he puts it, "I wanted to do something exciting and fun," and surely he is having his set of fun! We just hope that he keeps us glued on to the show!

Write to us your prediction on how Raj in Roshni will shape up. Post your comment to editor@tellychakkar.com.