Applauding the “loyal audience” that the daily soaps garner, actor Sudhanshu Pandey recently spoke about the immense popularity he has gained through his latest and ongoing project. Sudhanshu is currently seen in Anupamaa as Vanraj Shah. Produced by Rajan Shahi, the show is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. Sudhanshu said that the popularity that he gained through the show is unimaginable. “After such a long time, becoming a part of a show like Anupamaa, I realised how incredibly popular television can make you,” he said, in an interview with Outlook. He added, “Stardom and fame that I got with this show is something that I had not imagined earlier.”
Sudhanshu revealed that he was offered multiple roles in television, which he used to refuse for “various reasons.” But when Rajan came to Sudhanshu with the story line of Anupama, he instantly said yes to the role he was being offered. “My character was absolutely brilliant and he did not have to convince me much. The show had a fantastic story line,” he said.
Sudhanshu has been working in the industry for more than two decades now. He has a “huge body of work” behind him, including roughly 48 feature films. A television show was a new challenge for Sudhanshu, for which the actor was mentored by Rajan. “He mentally prepared me for a long time before I got into this scenario of this daily show as it is a completely different world for me,” Sudhanshu stated.
Talking about the shifting paradigm in television, Sudhanshu said that television shows are no longer meant for just women and are rather targeted at a larger audience. He believes that entertainment is “for men as well as women equally.” “It is targeted at the middle class which is the largest class where we all belong. That is where the popularity comes from, that is where the money comes from and that is where advertising comes from,” he added.
Anupama premiered on Star Plus on July 13, 2020 and has gained traction among daily soap audiences. The cast includes Rupali Ganguly, Gaurav Khanna, Arvind Vaidya, and Savita Prabhune.
