Rohit Purohit: ‘Learnt about the replacement when I went to sign contract’

After producer Rajan Shahi fired Shehzada Dhami from Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai citing unprofessional behaviour Rohit Purohit stepped into his role with barely two daysrsquo notice Surely thatrsquos not enough time to prep for the role of advocate Armaan Poddar But the actor claims that years of experience in the television industry has taught him to be ready at a minutersquos notice Purohit who has featured in Adaalat Chandragupta Maurya Porus and Udaariyaan discusses joining the show midway and how he hopes to win over the audienceEdited excerpts from the interviewHow did you land the roleI got a call from the casting director saying that Rajan Shahi sir wants to meet me for a new show When I went to the office he told me that his new show will be as big as Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai We did a mock test and they approved it I got to know I was replacing Shehzada Dhami in Yeh Rishta when I went to sign my contract Starting a show from scratch or joining a hit show which one do you think is more beneficialWith a hit show the audience is already there as are the expectations It is challenging because you have to start from where the other actor has left the act It is difficult to get the chemistry right with all the actors and the unit But here it all happened organically They were so warm and welcoming I have been shooting for nine days nowHow did you slip into the role of advocate Armaan Poddar with two daysrsquo noticeI had jitters I wonrsquot deny that However it has been almost 15 years since I entered television I know my craft and I had also watched a couple of episodes to know where the character is at I read the script and the team also narrated the story to me It was difficult but it worked outWhile the shift has been largely positive did you get negative feedback from fansYeah but that would only be five per cent of the population watching the show The audience connects with the character first and then the actor So 95 per cent of the people who were attached to the character have accepted me I will put in effort and hard work to win over the remaining who were attached to theprevious actorYoursquove done varied roles in the past 15 years Was that always a conscious decisionIt has been a conscious decision to take breaks and choose projects wisely From the start of my career to Arjun on which I met my wife Sheena Bajaj from Dil Toh Happy Hai Ji to Udaariyaan I have kept my roles distinct I have maintained a different look for every charactermdashin Porus I had blonde long hair and a beard In Razia Sultan I had long black hair Now in Yeh Rishtahellip Irsquom wearing glassesWhy have you not ventured into OTT entertainmentWhen I took a break in 2015 I was trying to get into films and OTT I even signed contracts for some projects but then COVID19 happened Before Dhadkanhellip I had signed a big web show but that was delayed for a yearandahalf Another series that I had signed was shelved It is very difficult to get into films and OTT once you are doing TVHave you faced the prejudice of being a television actorAbsolutely They feel that you are overexposed or that you are a TV face They say that they donrsquot want TV acting Now that is something I donrsquot even understand What is TV acting and TV face But Irsquom very happy working on the small screenYou joined the show under special circumstances Knowing that you can be fired any day do you feel the lack of job securityNo because life is unpredictable So I go with the flow I do my work go back home and sleep peacefully All I can do is be grateful to God for giving me this amazing life and constant work