Shiv Pandit is one of the few actors from TV who have made their mark on the big screen. He was appreciated for playing the character of Hanuman Prasad in SAB TV’s FIR and after that he was again acclaimed for his debut Bollywood flick Shaitaan. And now, he is all set to appear in his first movie down south, a Tamil film Leelai. And being the guest editor at Tellychakkar.com, I decided to speak to him about his experience. Excerpts from the interview:- Firstly, why did you quit FIR? The show was doing extremely well. I left the show namely because of two reasons. Firstly I wanted to do films. And in television, it was a catch 22 situation for me. Agreed, I became popular all thanks to FIR, but then similar roles were offered to me. Secondly, when you do a lot of stuff on television then you are too exposed actor on TV. (Laughs) You won’t believe this but I was cast in three to four films as the main lead, things didn’t materialize due to my over-exposure on TV. But luckily, Shaitaan happened. And your performance was appreciated. Yes, I was praised for my performance. Honestly speaking, I always knew that the film will be critically acclaimed, however I was not sure of its commercial success. But now I am very happy that people liked it. It was a really nice experience. It was shot nicely and I must say that it was do or die situation for me. Whether you call it my good luck or bad luck, I had no godfather in the industry but in spite of that I have made it this far. Post Shaitan, I got quite good offers. And that includes a South movie (Leelai), too. Tell us something more about that project. Leelai is a Tamil romantic-comedy film and is directed by Andrew Vasanth Louis and produced by V. Ravichandran of Aascar Films, Chennai. I will be seen opposite the beautiful and talented actress Manasi Parekh in the film. The promotion for the movie has already begun and hopefully it will release in March. How was your experience working with Manasi? Manasi is a wonderful actress and an equally good human being. I was very lucky to have her as a co-star in my debut south film. I believe she is one of the great actresses on TV today. I must say she is very talented and picked up the language very easily. You aren’t familiar with Tamil, how did you manage the language? It was very difficult for me. Acting is not just about reciting dialogues, it is also about giving the correct expression, so I had to understand what I was saying. That’s why; I have put in a lot of efforts to get familiar with the language. I shifted to Chennai for about four- five months and the assistant director of my film helped me to learn the language. A lot of hard work has gone into the making of the film and it took almost a year. And I am happy with the outcome. Since you have acted in a Hindi movie and South Indian movie now, do you think an actor can strike a balance between the two? I don’t have much info on the question but all I can say is that one has to balance their work so that people there (down South) don’t feel cheated. I think Madhavan can be the best example for this, since he has a great body of work in South as well as in Hindi cinema. And he had a great debut too with Rehna Hai Tere Dil Main. I know I will be compared post the release of my film Leelai, since there are many romantic superstars, down south. If you had to choose between Hindi cinema and South films which one would you choose and why? Frankly speaking I am seriously considering a career in South movies but that doesn’t mean I will not work in Hindi films. I am very lucky that I will be making my South debut with one of the biggest production houses there. So does that mean you have bid goodbye to the small screen? Honestly, I owe a lot to the television industry. It has made me who I am today, but if I come back on TV, it would mean regression for me rather than progression. So as of now, I would like to continue my journey in films. Okay. So which movies will you be part of? At the moment, I have been approached for a few projects but I can’t really comment on any of them as nothing has been finalized yet. Lastly, any message to your fans? Just continue loving me the way you guys have been and thanks for all your support and blessings. Lots of love.