Kasautii Zindagi Kay actor Cezanne Khan on why he never wants to be a part of reality shows

Television actor Cezanne Khan, who rose to fame with Ekta Kapoor’s Kasautii Zindagi Kay as Anurag Basu, returned to the showbiz after a long hiatus of more than two decades with the show, Shakti – Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki in 2021. And now, Cezanne is back on screen with new show Appnapan - Badalte Rishton Ka Bandhan with Rajshree Thakur. The show is produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms. The actor is seen playing the lead role of an emotionally unavailable husband and father with ambitions of his own. In this exclusive conversation with Indulge, Cezanne Khan opens up about his association with Balaji and Ekta, how the sabbatical helped him reinvent himself as an actor, OTT, staying away from the limelight and social media, fitness, and a lot more…

You are back with Balaji after a long time since your first major hit. How has been this association?
My major break was with Balaji. It’s like coming back home. My association with Balaji goes back a long way so it’s always a pleasant and safe feeling to be working with the same production house and the technical team. They are happy to see me back and so am I. I can’t explain how it is to be back on to the same place and it’s nostalgic. I didn’t find anything different except that things have become more managed and everyone on the set is happy to see me after 20 years. I am enjoying this second inning. 

Was this sabbatical intentional?
No, it wasn’t! The work which I wanted to do that never worked out and the kind of work that came to me, I didn’t want to do it. There were many reality shows I was offered that I wasn’t comfortable with. What happens is that 90 per cent of the actors have to keep doing work because they have to keep their house running but for me, that isn’t the case. I never have to go through any financial crunch so I could be choosy but that wasn’t intentional. Things just didn’t happen.

Why aren’t you comfortable with reality shows? They come with a lot of fame as well...
Agree, there is fame and a lot of money as well. But to be honest, money, as I said, was never the criteria, and fame through reality shows is not long-lasting. It’s very short-term. I am not comfortable with reality shows and not even happy about it.

Did the sabbatical help you reinvent yourself as an actor?
I love to enjoy life no matter what. You give me two years and do nothing, I will still be enjoying. I love watching movies. I watched a lot of movies in different language and that I feel has helped me reinvent myself.  This has been my homework and it has been distressing as well.

How has the TV industry evolved over the years? 
I don’t see much difference or change but I am impressed with the technology. It has become way better. There used to be only one camera when we used to shoot Kasautii and everything else would happen to post the shooting but now we have three cameras on the set. Everything has changed as far as technicality is concerned and it is for good.

Does that still demand long working hours from actors?
No, it was bad before. Life has become a lot easier for actors. There was no time before for actors but now it is less demanding comparatively. The best part is many avenues have opened up for actors. There is OTT and many channels so there is a lot of work and a lot of new talent. Earlier everything was limited but now it’s different and for the better. But the drawback is that the fame for an actor only lasts till you are there on the television, that’s a problem.

How do you see OTT and would you be comfortable taking up projects for streaming platforms?Of course! I got one during the lockdown but I was working on something else so it didn’t happen. I am open to working on OTT and whenever the opportunity comes up I will do it.

Why aren’t you on social media?
Many people told me that Instagram helps a lot and I should be on social media but I never felt too comfortable with that and neither believed in that. I was offered Shakti... and now Appnapan... without being on social media. Probably that’s not me. I am not saying people who are on social media are not right. I appreciate that but I don’t like that personally myself. My adventure is not social media and I can’t just click a picture of everything that I do and put that up on social media. It doesn’t work for me. I believe if you are good at your work then you will be noticed and people will give you work. I am not saying social media is bad, it is good, the more you are seen, the more work you get but I don’t believe in that.

Appnapan - Badalte Rishton Ka Bandhan is streaming on Sony