Mumbai: Vatsal made an entry in television as a child with the successful teen drama Just Mohabbat. In his later years, he tried his luck in Bollywood but after a few unsuccessful attempts he has returned to the small screen. This time he plays the bad guy Shaurya on Ek Hasina Thi. The actor feels the television industry has changed for the better.
Vatsal says, “I used to do TV in the 1990s and the medium was not so huge at that time. The number of channels was limited. We used to have weekly shows unlike the dailies that we have nowadays. Also, the production values are huge now”.
He plays the lead in Ek Hasina Thi and the character is pure evil. Vatsal says with a smile, “I’ve never done such a role before and you don’t come across such characters often. I have been tagged as the sexy villain of Indian TV.”
He was also voted the “most stylish actor on TV” at the Star Parivaar Awards. Vatsal says, “The credit goes to my stylist Sapna. I also wear a lot of Being Human outfits on the show which works as a style statement.”
While the actor is playing a baddie on-screen, there have been rumours doing the rounds that he has been giving his co-stars a tough time off screen. Vatsal, however, brushes it off with a laugh. He says, “These are just rumours and I don’t know who’s spreading them and what their intention is. I have been in the industry for a long time and am aware that people cook up stories.”
Referring to a particular rumour that did the rounds about him not getting along with co-star Sanjeeda Sheikh, he adds, “We were laughing after that story came out and we immediately clicked a selfie together and put it up on Twitter. We have lunch together in my room and that wouldn’t be possible if we had a problem with each other.”
The actor, who is part of Mumbai Heroes CCL team, is known to be close to the Khan family. He was seen in a small role in the Salman Khan-starrer Jai Ho. “Yes, I am close to them especially Sohail bhai. We try and catch up to watch football and cricket matches together. I was offered another role in Jai Ho, but since I was shooting 22 days a month for Ek Hasina Thi, I had to settle for a smaller part.”
Vatsal feels lucky that his shoot isn’t as hectic as most dailies. “We have been shooting for a year now. We have a bank of episodes and the shoot is not stressful. The show has a finite story and is expected to run for at least a year more.” The actor who is a football fan, is currently hooked to Fifa. “My favourite teams are the Netherlands, Argentina and Germany,” he says.
