Rajeev Khandelwal, who started his TV journey with Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat, quickly rose to fame as the charming heartthrob Sujal Garewal in Ekta Kapoor’s Kahiin To Hoga. Women gushed over him, and over time, his character became the poster boy of romance. However, after a year, he made a bold decision to leave the show and later ventured into non-fiction shows and content-driven films. In an exclusive conversation with News18, he shared reasons behind his decision to step away from Kahiin To Hoga at the pinnacle of his career.
Speaking of why he left Kahiin To Hoga, the actor said, “I knew I was going against the tide when I left the serial. I feared whether I’ll survive in the industry. But with my own belief system, I have managed it. The popularity of Sujal Garewal propelled me to a zone I wasn’t even prepared for. I didn’t even know that so much love and adulation can exist for a character. I wondered, ‘Could something like this happen to anyone?’ It happened overnight. It became difficult for me to wrap my head around it. I asked myself, ‘I can’t become good-looking overnight, can I? Kal tak toh thik tha. People used to find me cute, now suddenly, they find me good-looking.’ I knew I was missing something.”
Rajeev said that it didn’t take him long to understand what he was missing. “The love was not for me but for Sujal. Once I figured that out, I had to take care of the character. Which is why, I gave it my all for that one year. The popularity of the character was going through the roof. But, with script changes, I felt like if I can’t give the audience what they expect from Sujal, I should not continue. I couldn’t sleepwalk through a character – especially, when it wasn’t a routine character. My conscience wasn’t letting me do it,” he said, adding, “The script was going awry. I knew I was saying no to the immense love that came with sujal but I couldn’t continue.”
The actor will be next seen in a web series produced by Karan Johar’s Dharmatic.
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