I want to raise the bar on Indian television: Anil

Mumbai: Anil Kapoor, who is planning to enter into TV programming, says he is committed to take the Indian television several notches up by attempting something new.

"It will be something that nobody has done before. I want to raise the bar on Indian television. My production house is planning something which has never been attempted on small screen before. I never do things which others do," Anil told reporters without elaborating further. The veteran Bollywood actor, whose debut American tele series "24" will go on air from August 23 in India on AXN, says its not right to compare American TV industry with ours. "US is ahead of us, but our industry is doing good work. Still we are lagging behind and have a long way to go." Anil, who plays Oman Hasan, the President of a Middle east country in the action series, says he is not averse to doing television in India provided the project was satisfying for him as an actor. He said the budget of the American action/drama TV series was more than a single Bollywood big budgeted film. "My TV project would be something on the lines of 24." "24" stars Kiefer Sutherland as special agent Jack Bauer who works for Los Angeles based Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). Each episode has Jack racing against the clock as he attempts to prevent multiple terrorist plots, including presidential assassination attempts, nuclear, biological and chemical threats, cyber attacks as well as conspiracies dealing with government and corporate corruption. The show is presented in the semblance of real time, with each 24-episode season covering 24 hours in the life of Bauer. Anil said Kiefer was the only actor who has featured in all the eight seasons. "Other characters are either bumped off or leave the show. I feared if I would meet the same fate in two or three episodes." PTI"I was nervous whether I would be able to pull it off. It was a role which I had never done," he said. According to Anil, You Tube was of help to understand American and Middle East politics. "The preparations that i did reminded me of my `Mashaal` and `Woh Saat Din` days. I approached my new assignment in US as a newcomer. They were the best of times.. I made lot of friends," he said. He said the rave reviews in US moved him to tears and expressed confidence that viewers in India will watch the show because of him. He described the phase in his career after "Slumdog Millionaire" as an an extension of what he has already done in Mumbai movies. "I am reliving the same kind of situation I underwent when I was a newcomer 32 years ago," he added. PTI