"In this world, if you want to achieve something,
then you have to pay a price for it!"

But then, playing Ram did, by your own admission, set your film career back for a while. Do you think, in retrospect, that accepting the role was suicidal for your mainstream career?

I believe in this one basic tenet - whatever you get in life, you pay a price for it. Nothing is free in this world. Yeah, maybe the role of Ram meant that for a while, I didn't get feature films - but then again, I got a lot of publicity, my face became recognised throughout the world. So that's a plus right there. No, to answer your question, I don't think accepting that role was a mistake.

In course of our chat you have mentioned many mythological serials - the Ramayan, Luv Kush, Jai Veer Hanumna, Buddha (left). Besides, there have been others, like the Mahabharat. In your opinion, is there an overdose of mythological teleserials?

Yes, well, since Ramayan and Mahabharat succeeded way beyond everybody's expectations, people have begun to look at mythologicals as a potential goldmine.

They should realise that this is not quite true - a mythological is actually very difficult to make. Sure, we Indians are very attached to our roots, we grow up with these stories and would like to see them on the screen. But then again, we are also very particular about how these serials are made, how the characters are portrayed. So trying to cash in on this goldmine, through trashy mythologicals, will only result in turning the viewer off in the long run.

You have played Ram and are now playing Gautama Buddha (left), two of the strongest religious figures in Indian history. How has this changed your personal character?

For one thing, I was a chain smoker when I was doing the Ramayan. I got a lot of inner peace while doing the serial, and three years ago I finally gave up smoking for good. Again, after playing the role of Ram, I have sobered down as a person. I don't get agitated so easily, my temper is under control. Yes, I guess there have been changes in me as a person - positive changes, I think.

To come to the present - what projects are you working on now?

I'm doing very few films - because at this stage in my career, I would rather do only those roles that I really want to do. Right now, I am doing lots of serials - Jai Veer Hanuman for Sony TV. Aparajitha and Vansh for Doordarshan, Safar Apna Apna for NEPC TV. Besides these, I've acted for Aadi Guru Shankaracharya, the story of the great Advaita philosopher, which is scheduled to be aired on the national channel from October 16. In this serial, I play the king in whose territory Shankaracharya is born. And then, of course, there is the Buddha.

In other words, you have switched almost entirely to the small screen. In your view, is that a more viewer-friendly medium than the large screen?

Both big and small screens are viewer friendly, both command a wide audience. I guess in television, the reach and impact is instant, whereas in films the impact is more lasting. In the sense that in television, as a rule, last week's episode is forgotten by the time this week's episode comes around - the exception, of course, being serials like the Ramayan. I would say both films and television have their own audience, their own reason for being.

The rise of the BJP, the emergence of the Ram Janambhoomi movement - all these took place in the immediate aftermath of the Ramayan being nationally telecast. Do you see a cause and effect relationship here?

No, I would not call it cause and effect. Sure, the serial recalled to the public memory the story of Lord Ram - and I suspect that at some level, the politicians took advantage of it. Having said that, I will add that if the serial has reminded people of Hinduism - in a positive fashion, that is - then that is a good thing.

The tragedy is only if the re-awakening of Hinduism leads to destruction - that is bad, and cannot be condoned.

You appeared to politicise your screen role when you campaigned for Sunil Shastri in the Allahabad Lok Sabha by-election in 1988, wearing your 'Ram' get-up. Were you not taking advantage of your popularity for political ends?

The whole story is false. Absolutely untrue. It is a pity that even the mainstream press blatantly publicised such lies, wrote that I campaigned in the costume of Lord Ram. Look, was there one photograph of me in that costume, campaigning? No. And why not? Because it didn't happen - simple. Throughout that campaign, I wore my usual white kurta and pajamas, and that is the truth.