Bigg Boss 15 fame Donal Bisht lately made her OTT debut with the Voot web series Doon Kaand, where she teamed up with actor Iqbal Khan, Indraneil Sengupta, Karamveer Mehra and Nidhi Seth. Helmed by debutant director Manoj Khade, the series follows Inspector Arvind Rawat (Khan) and his deadly nemesis who wants to avenge his brother’s death. Iqbal and Donal joined News18.com for a candid chat where they talked about their respective characters and their series. The television actors, who also gained popularity for their reality shows, gave an insight into the impact these shows had on their careers.
Excerpts from the interview:
Tell us about Doon Kaand and your characters
Iqbal Khan: This show is primarily about human emotions and somebody who is on the right side of the law and somebody who is on the wrong side. People have their own reasons for doing things but everyone is trying to save their own selves, their family, and their integrity. People also have revenge on their minds so all of that put together makes the show. I play the role of a police officer named Arvind, somebody who is a family man and can do anything to protect them. He is somebody who does his work with utmost honesty and he also believes that everybody should be like that in the world but that is his frustration also because that’s not how the world works.
Donal Bisht: I am playing Tamanna, a strong-headed girl but she has no idea how her life is going to change after her marriage. She is devoted to her family. Iqbal and my characters are married in the show and something happens that changes the lives of their family. But you get to see how Tamanna stays strong and tries to help the family. It is about how this soft girl becomes strong.
How has the OTT and the digital space helped you?
Iqbal: Every actor should explore the web space, it is fuel for an actor. It is something that keeps you going. You do one project and if you are lucky enough to get a good one, it will keep you going for at least a year. That’s the power of the web. And it is not only for actors, it is for all artists, be it directors, DoP, writers, or producers who are also wanting to make different kinds of things. Audiences expect a certain kind of thing from films or television shows but from a web show, they expect perfection from every department. And that keeps everyone involved in this medium on their toes.
Talking of shows, how has being in Bigg Boss helped you in your career?
I gained a lot of love from the audience doing Bigg Boss. They really saw who real Donal is. Till now they have been seeing me through my characters but I loved that direct one-on-one interaction. As far as work is concerned, we shot Doon Kaand before Bigg Boss, in lockdown. I think the love is more and work is the same as before and right now also I am shooting another web show. Life is great and it has become more interesting. Wherever people see me, they tell me they wanted to see me more in Bigg Boss.
So would you go back to reality shows?
I don’t know but Bigg Boss happened after saying no to it for 4 years. My focus is always on my work. Reality shows are the in-between things, they are not your work. So the focus will always be on acting, work, web shows or other things.
Going forward, how do you want audiences to see you and what kind of roles do you want to do?
I would love to play something like a Wonder Woman or a Mulan because there are very less girls who do action films in Bollywood or Indian cinema. I would really want to do that genre.
Iqbal, you were also a part of a reality show, does it help in a major way?
I can’t really put any thought into this. I have just done one reality show which is Khatron Ke Khiladi. I liked that show because you can actually not speak a word in the entire show and reach the finals and win. Reality shows are great but I don’t see myself doing any other reality show. And whether you gain popularity through it depends. For me, I had a good time in KKK as it was something I always wanted to do. It was like going for sports and not paying for it and getting paid for it instead.
