Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; September 13, 2020)

Known for his stint as a TV actor and not coming from a film family either, Karan Tacker admits these things become a hurdle in breaking into the Bollywood space.

Since his last daily soap — Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai — went off air in 2013, the actor has mostly done guest appearances and reality shows, till he came back in action with web series Special Ops earlier this year, that got positive response.

“The idea was not to take a break from acting, but focus on working on stories and with better makers. When I stopped taking acting projects on TV, there was no digital platform. And coming from TV, it’s hard to break into films. Getting the opportunity to work with a National award-winning director like Neeraj Pandey (director of the series) therefore took time,” shares Tacker.

Though the actor has no such ‘connections’ in the film industry, he is good friends with filmmaker Karan Johar and fashion designer Manish Malhotra. Asked if knowing them anyhow helped him bag work in Bollywood, and pat comes the reply, “Our friendship is a good bond that I enjoy more than looking at them to get work.” He adds, “It’s nice to know people like them in film fraternity who’re always there to guide you. Also, filmmaking is a business, so whenever things click, we’d collaborate.”

Given that Johar has been facing a lot of flak around the nepotism debate in the film industry, Tacker, 34, opines that nobody should tell a filmmaker who he should cast in his films.

“I don’t know why is anyone answerable to anyone else for professional decisions they’re making. They’re smart people and know what’s better for their business. I don’t have any personal grudge against anyone,” he reasons.