Television serials are the future, says Sadashiv Amrapurkar

Mumbai: Remembered as the quintessential baddie of the big screen, Sadashiv Amrapurkar is set to make his small screen debut with Zee TV`s new show "Shobha Somnath Ki". The veteran actor feels that television has a strong future.

"TV serials are the future. They have come a long way and I feel that acting in a serial is one of the most difficult things," Amrapurkar told IANS. "A movie lasts for a week or two, however, serials go on for years. You are in front of the viewers for a longer time compared to movies and you have to keep doing different things to entertain and impress them in 30 minutes," he added. Born to an autodriver in 1956, Amrapukar ventured into acting with Marathi film "Aamras" and went on to do minor roles in Marathi cinema. His first brush with Bollywood was in the film "Ardh Satya" in 1983. However, it was his role as a eunuch 1991 film "Sadak" that made him popular among the masses. It is considered one of his best roles. He later switched to do supporting and comic roles in "Aankhen", "Ishq", "Gupt: The Hidden Truth". He was last seen in "Mr White Mr Black" in 2008. After that Amrapukar took a sabbatical from acting to "explore himself". "After doing films for 25-30 years and doing same kind of roles, I got really bored. So I took a sabbatical. I went around the world and around India, interacted with people and tried to understand what I have done so far and what should I do now," he said. "It is very important for an actor to move out of the stereotype. Otherwise it restricts his or her development," he added. After carving a niche for himself as a villain with films like "Sadak", "Ardh Satya" and "Aakhri Raasta", Amrapurkar is adamant that he will "not repeat the kind of roles he has done so far." He also admits he is a director`s actor. "I do not have to prepare too much for a role. The directors and writers do the preparation, I only have to perform and give my best," he the 55-year-old actor. Probe him further on the memorable roles he has done till date, he says, "It is the audience that tell me about my performance and memorable roles. When they tell me about my roles in certain films I really feel really proud." However, he admits his portrayal of Lokmanya Tilak and Jyotiba Phule are two of his memorable roles. IANS