Actor-host Shiv Pandit says that he loves how men and women give respect to each other in this “culturally-rich” city
The first time the actor-host Shiv Pandit came to Jaipur was to host one of the IPL matches. Since then, he has been a regular visitor to Jaipur, for professional and personal reason. This time, Shiv was in town to attend his niece’s wedding. “I have been to Jaipur many times before. The first time I came to Jaipur was when I was hosting the first season of IPL. During that period, I got an opportunity to travel to a lot of cities, including Jaipur. This time, I came to attend my niece’s wedding. It’s always nice to be in Jaipur. It’s a lovely city but more than that, I like the way how people in Jaipur behave with each other. I am quite fascinated by the Rajputi customs and the respect men and women give to each other. It reminds me of the fact that we live in such a culturally rich country. Every aspect of Jaipur spells culture,” Shiv tells us. While Shiv has come to Jaipur quite often, his has not explored the city much. “I have seen a few cricket grounds in Jaipur and have seen a little bit of the city. But I am yet to explore Jaipur to the fullest,” says Shiv, who is a big fan of Rajasthani thali.
Shiv Pandit
‘I like to work with professionals who generate good content’
Having worked across all the platforms – TV, films and web – Shiv is of the opinion that more than the platform, what matters is the kind of people you are working with. Also, he doesn’t find much of a difference between the mediums except for the fact that TV has a very hectic schedule as compared to films as for the former, one needs to shoot every day for long hours. “For me, what matters is who I am working with more than the platform. I like to work with skilled professionals who generate good content,” he says.
‘Not the platform but who you work with matters’
Shiv adds, “Though, I would like to say that web has given opportunities to a lot of people who may not have been professional script or content writers or may not have grown up thinking that they would become scriptwriters one day. But now they are doing so well. If you must have noticed, a lot of new directors and writers have come to the forefront and with just one film on web, they have become overnight stars.”
‘I am a very greedy actor’
Shiv also confesses that he is a very greedy actor. He explains, “I certainly would like to do as much work as I possibly can. Our country has tremendous amount of hidden stories. It’s good to see that fresh stories are being churned out and I like to associate myself with that. I don’t want to say that I want to do this and not that. I am greedy. This is my passion and acting charges me up as an individual.”
‘Had an amazing experience doing F.I.R’
Recalling his experience of doing the sitcom F.I.R, the actor shares, “I had a very amazing experience doing F.I.R. I learned a lot from it. It taught me how to do comedy and made me a household name. I still remember when I was doing the show, whenever I used to visit a friend’s house, his cook would treat me in a special way, and always serve hot phulkas. When asked the reason, the cook told my friend, ‘Woh bhaiyya ka show aata hai na F.I.R, main usko bahut dekhta hoon.’ I had a great time doing it. But all good things come to an end and now I would like to try as many new things as I can.”
