After Katha Ankahee, why didn’t you take a short break to recharge yourself like most actors do?
I could have gone travelling, but rest was not a concern. When you are shooting, you feel that after the show is over, you will sleep [for long hours]. [When the time comes], you sleep peacefully one day, but on the second day, you feel sleep is overrated. It’s not every day that you get a show like Pracchand Ashok. I’ve always wanted to work with Balaji. How could I let go of this opportunity?

Considering Sidharth Nigam’s show on Ashoka was widely popular, weren’t you apprehensive of comparisons?
When I did Ishq Subhan Allah, a lot of people asked me whether my character would be similar to Karan Singh Grover’s in Qubool Hai. I wanted to do what I enjoy, irrespective of what people thought. My nervousness and apprehension reduced when I shot the first promo for Pracchand Ashok. I have never done an action-oriented period series.

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Will there be a lot of action considering the show focuses on the romance between Ashoka and Kaurvaki?
Even if they make me ride a horse, I’m happy. As for [doing] a romance show, I am a sucker for love; no other emotion is as supreme. I like seeing and enacting love.

Is it fair to change someone for the sake of love, like is shown in most daily soaps?
I remember a dialogue from Mughal-e-Azam (1960), one of my favourite films, where Dilip Kumar as Prince Salim says, “Taqdeerein badal jaati hai, zamana badal jaata hai, mulqon ki tareekh badal jaati hai, sab badal jaata hai magar mohabbat jiss insaan ka daaman thaam leti hai woh kabhi nahin badalta.” When a person has a block that he himself is not aware of, love cleans that out. I used to believe human beings can never change, but I have seen people, in love, changing for the better.

Have you experienced this?
I have seen it as well as experienced it. I hope what I felt was true love. Every time I have liked someone, I’ve tried to keep it pure. Unfortunately, I was a douchebag before, but [I have changed]. 

Did you see your personality change during the highs and lows of your career?
Definitely! After my first show, I realised that I should appreciate the highs, but keep myself grounded during my lows. I feel I went off-track for some time because of the importance that was given to me. When I saw that it was affecting my work, I realised that the outside world had become more important than the [work I did]. It had to go. Ego can be the death of one’s creativity.

Do you feel you have progressed as an actor?
None of my work has made me go ‘wow’. Some moments have taken me by surprise, but I largely find it difficult to watch myself.

Coming back to Pracchand Ashok, how was your interaction with Mallika Singh?
She was wonderful during the mock shoot, professional and a good actor. I think it will be a long-sustaining relationship.

Do you think Mallika and you have great chemistry?
I can romance even a cow. Not that I am trying to compare myself to Shah Rukh Khan, but it gives me great joy to do romance. Besides love, there is a father-son relationship that has been explored in the show too.