Famous Indian television star Karanvir Bohra has finally found himself in the lead role of a film, Humme Tumse Pyaar Kitna. The movie releases in UAE theatres today.
At 36, and with more than 15 years in popular television shows (he was a Bigg Boss finalist two years ago), Bohra says that this being his big screen lead debut was a choice, and it wasn't a project he took on out of desperation.
"If I had to do that [find a film lead], I could have done it long back coming from a film family," he tells The National.
He is the third generation of a cinematic family and is the grandson of Ramkumar Bohra, who made 18 films, and the son of Mahendra. And the new film is a family affair: his father is a producer and his wife Teejay is among the cast.
However, aside a bit role as a villain in his first film Kismat Konnection, Bohra has not made much impact outside of TV. His shows Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Shararat, Naagin 2 and Qubool Hai have been interspersed with bit roles in a few films, as well as in reality shows. Bohra also owns a local clothing brand.
Karanvir explains that he cut no corners in his first film production, and that there was good reason for the film to take a year post-filming to release. "We spent more than 25 lakhs on one location, which is right on the China border and this one year has been mostly on VFX," he says.
He is definitely experienced enough to know how to promote his film, and has scored on that front for being innovative, even if he has caused some controversy. Reluctant at first, Karanvir concedes him being in the news in the months before today's release "has been his idea of doing the marketing differently."
First he smartly used a session with influencers of the popular social media app Tik-Tok to build on his film title, showing how it's also a popular old song.
Secondly, when he launched his movie's trailer, the self-confessed Shah Rukh Khan mega-fan asked the media to spread the message through a hashtag asking for the superstar's reaction.
The film's trailer suggests the plot is a take of Khan's popular flick Darr where he plays a man obsessed with Juhi Chawla. He insists his thriller is different to Darr, but then audiences will be the judge of that.
Third, he has added one star name - Chawla - to the cast, even if it is a cameo, and Karanvir tells us she happens to be a family friend.
But it was his fourth move that riled up even his strongest supporters. In a Tik-Tok video with the title song playing in the background, Karanvir is seen sipping coffee at a mall with a cleaner mopping the floor behind him.
The actor takes the mop from the man, has a couple of swipes and slowly draws a currency note from his handy waist pouch and gives it as a tip as the camera pans in. People found the skit insensitive.
"People can say whatever they want. My God and my heart knows I never meant anything bad," Karanvir tells us. "If I had to do a publicity stunt like this for the cameras, I would have done it during the multiple times I have been part of the beach-cleaning drives. Did you [the media] even get to know about that one?"
The actor is referencing his recent campaigns to clean up the tonnes of garbage ashore on the Juhu-Versova Beach that lines a neighborhood which many people from the entertainment industry live in.
