Ronit Roy: Television is a beast that cannot die

After a successful reign in television Ronit Roy turned his attention to movies and digital entertainment But one can rarely forget their first love mdash the actor returns to the tube whenever he is offered a compelling story This time around he is gracing the small screen with Swaran Ghar which sees him play a doting husband and father Kanwaljeet Bedi Ahead of its airing we sit down with the actor as he discusses the changing content on TV his global aspirations and his relationship with children mdash Ona Agasthya and AdorEdited excerpts from the interviewDo you think television content is improving since the OTT boomYes but it is not only because of the OTT boom I remember the Krishi Darshan shows we used to watch on Doordarshan Then there was the satellite TV boom It is not that people didnrsquot try to do different things on TV but it didnrsquot work When something doesnrsquot work people get scared Conversely when one theme works everybody jumps on the bandwagon Now people are realising that stories about reptiles and animals are not working which means we have stretched it too far So they are attempting different themes Three or four years ago people would tell me that television is a done industry I would say that itrsquos getting a dusting but in the end it will be cleaner Television is a beast that cannot die The revenue here is many folds higher than on OTTDid you agree to front Swaran Ghar because of producers Ravi Dubey and Sargun MehtaThe few days of shoot was an important factor in giving my nod But I said yes for a selfish reason mdash Sargunrsquos narration and the potential of the role itself I have played a father and a husband many times but I felt he could be a poster father It could be an iconic characterDid you feel a difference while working with producers who have been actors beforeTwo things are critical to making content successful mdash creativity and math Ravi and Sargun have done a brilliant thing by dividing their work Ravi takes care of the math Sargun looks at creativity and they donrsquot get into each otherrsquos territoryThe show revolves around the generation gap How connected are you to Gen NextMy son Agasthya 14 calls me Broski I try to pick up their lingo which keeps changing every month laughs Sometimes it is lsquoHey whatrsquos going downrsquo or lsquoWhatrsquos good Broskirsquo Then there are the emojis used to express feelings I try not to make the mistake of picking the wrong emoji at the wrong moment laughs One needs to adapt to the changing world My kids are my friends and I need to speak their language to understand themDo your children come to you for adviceChildren never approach their parents for advice they think they know it all They only come to me when they want my credit card laughs We have lived our life and can now anticipate problems Theyrsquove not been there so they donrsquot know what to anticipate Irsquove had chats about the prevalent dangers that one will encounter like drugs being taken advantage of or alcohol consumption No one is restricted in my home After you reach a certain age you can sit with me and have a drink The only rule we follow at home is not to hide anything If you need to hide it donrsquot do itYoursquove come a long way Do you still have miles to goYes I may be slow to get there but there is so much to be done There are many actors and directors I have not worked with yet I want to be an actor on a global scale I want to speak different languages It would seem impossible about 20 years ago but not any longer