Bobby Khanna: When I did shows like Hasratein in the 90s, television had exciting content; wish more roles were written for character actors

Bobby Khanna, who started his career with Aamir Khan's Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, moved to television years ago because he felt the medium had more substantial roles than films. The actor, who has starred in TV shows such as Hasratein, Yule Love Stories, Remix and Lipstick in the 90s, feels that television was much more exciting in those days.
In recent years, Bobby has been seen in shows like Kumkum Bhagya, Nazar, Daayan, Radha Krishn and Devo ke Dev Mahadev.He says, “When I did shows like Hasratein, television had exciting content and there was scope for many character actors to perform. TV shows were based on slice-of-life content and relatable characters. Some shows were based on novels and even episodic shows like Aahat and Yule Love Stories, and shows like Remix and Lipstick were entertaining in their own way. They had a social message. While TV shows today do have nice content and makers are working hard to offer something different, somehow audiences' tastes have remained the same over the past two decades. Though they have an option to watch web shows, TV audiences continue to prefer family-based shows that revolve around drama and kitchen politics.”
Ask the actor why he has kept away from television in recent times and he says, “I wasn’t satisfied with the roles I was offered. Fortunately, the OTT space has opened up a lot of opportunities for actors like us. Having said that, I also believe that TV has a vast reach and if makers had interesting roles for character actors like us, it would be exciting. In the past few months, I shot for a couple of web shows and it has made me realise that finite shows connect well with viewers.”
Bobby adds, “After doing Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, I was occupied with some family issues because I had to relocate from Kashmir with my entire family. The whole burden of my family fell on my shoulders and I had to take immediate correcting steps and start my own business.”
Bobby also shares that he lost many opportunities due to the pandemic in the past year. He says, “Many of my colleagues went through tough times due to COVID-19. I was scared to shoot because I did not want to put my family in danger. That made me turn down many offers from shows and web series. It was a difficult time.”
The actor’s future plans include doing films - he has a film releasing soon. He says, “I’ve got an interesting role in a film with Sidharth Malhotra and am excited about it. There's another film called ‘Love You Loktantra that will come out soon. I am happy about getting good offers - I feel blessed. My son Siddhant has become an author and I am excited about that as well.”