Sharad Kelkar made quite an impression with his earnest portrayal of Nahar Pratap Singh in Zee's hit show Saat Phere.... Saloni Ka Safar. After a break of almost five months, he is back on television, as the anchor of Pati Patni Aur Woh and as landlord Thakur Digvijay Singh in Colors' show Bairi Piya. He tells CS about his new innings:



Taking a break
I left Saat Phere in April as I had to get my knee operated. It was in terrible shape. Post surgery, I rested for two-and-a-half months, so there was no chance of working regularly. It took me another two months to get back in shape with physiotherapy and workouts. Though I kept getting a lot of offers, nothing excited me. I had played a positive character for almost four years and didn't want to redo the run-of-the-mill stuff.

Fatherhood lessons
I enjoy anchoring so when NDTV Imagine approached me for this show, I grabbed the offer. The show was a good learning experience for me, though my involvement was limited. I feel that the controversy around the show was unfair. The children were well-looked after and their parents were always around them. I hope it stands me in good stead when I enter fatherhood.u00a0

Exploring new horizons
The character of Thakur Digvijay Singh is a negative one. This is the first time that I am playing such a character. He's not a typical villain, but a man driven by desire. Digvijay is a good and responsible family man, but his negativity surfaces when he's overtaken by lust. It was easy for me to get into the skin of the character as I have a good creative team backing me. Till now, the feedback's been good and I hope it gets better.