Mumbai: Anas Rashid is popular as Sooraj of Diya Aur Baati Hum. While it may seem like an easy character to portray, Anas tells us that he finds it tougher than his previous role of Prithviraj Chauhan. He says, “My mother was the happiest to see me as Sooraj, a halwai who remains calm even when people insult him.
My ammi said, ‘Ab sukoon aa gaya, ghoda nahi dauda raha hai, chot nahi lagegi.’ (Now I am relieved that you’re not riding horses, so you won’t be hurt). What she doesn’t realise is that as Prithviraj Chauhan, I got a chance to scream at people and vent my frustration. As Sooraj I can’t reply even if I’m right and the frustration tends to build up. It feels so strange when a junior artiste who took my autograph, shouts at me as the camera starts rolling.”
Anas surprises us as he reveals, “I have an old association with the kitchen as I was a chef. I enjoy cooking Chinese cuisine but it is a challenge as you have just five or six spices with which all dishes are cooked. Coming from a Muslim family, I have grown up seeing my mother cook a lot of mutton. She makes the best mutton stew and that’s something I learnt from her. So while playing Sooraj, the chef part of it came naturally to me.”
Coming to his show, the actor’s onscreen wife Deepika recently married the director of the show. So is it uncomfortable performing romantic scenes? He laughs, “Not at all! I’ve known the director for way too long for that to happen.”
Buzz is that Anas isn’t happy with the IPS track as it focusses on Deepika. “I am happy with my role. As Sooraj, my job was to support Sandhya to become an IPS officer and I think I have done my bit and my job is over.” So is that a hint that he is quitting the show? “Well you’ll have to wait and watch,” he says.
