"I Feel Breezy Whenever I Have Scenes With Mohnish Behl", Says "Sanjivani 2" Star Namit Khanna

Popular television actor Namit Khanna is winning hearts as Dr. Sid in the reboot of Sanjivani titled Sanjivani 2 and fans are loving his love-and-hate relationship with Dr. Ishani aka Surbhi Chandna.

From his attitude to his concern for patients, Dr. Sid has managed to win hearts in just three episodes of the show. During an interview, Namit Khanna opened up on playing a doctor in Sanjivani as he said that his character comes from a chawl and has a humble background. His life’s purpose is to become the best surgeon and to be able to help people who can’t afford treatment and are suffering from various diseases.

Namit Khanna talked about working with actors such as Mohnish Bahl and Gurdeep Kohli and he said that it is a privilege to share screen space with them.

Namit Khanna said, “People ask if there is any pressure but it’s the complete opposite. Whenever I have scenes with them, I just feel so breezy. They are always there to guide us and even praise us. The amount of talent they have, it's always amazing to watch them and learn. Its a privilege to share the screen with them. Even Rohit (Roy) sir is so generous, kind and loving. I am so glad to have them.”

When Namit Khanna was asked if he has seen the original show Sanjivani, he said that he hasn’t seen the show but before shooting for Sanjivani 2, he saw one episode to get an idea about the shots. For all those who don’t know, Namit Khanna shot to fame as the male lead in a romantic TV show, Yeh Pyaar Nahi Toh Kya Hai in which he played a lawyer.

While Mohnish Bahl says he is careful about selecting projects as he believes the audiences today demand better content and don’t shy away from trashing a film or show they dislike.

The actor called the 1980s and 1990s a more “forgiving” era in cinema and TV. “I believe post-2005, the profession is not as forgiving for the mistakes that you make. A bad film or bad performance will be rejected quickly by people,” Bahl told PTI in an interview.

According to Mohnish, Indian cinema has seen some radical yet positive changes in the last few decades. “From the knowledge I have through the conversation with my mother (Nutan), I know that from the ’50s to 2000s, there has always been a change in content. In the ’50s and ’60s, there were socially relevant films and then in the ’80s, we went into an anti-establishment kind of a thing. It was more about the romance in the ’90s and the ‘2000s, we were back to social kind of subjects. We have a mixture of both the quintessential cinema and the content.”

Mohnish Bahl said he never expected the show will return after 18 years. “I never realized that even after so many years Sanjivani is still so relevant for the audiences. The show is being revisited because people have liked it. It is the content of the show, which is very identifiable as far as the audience is concerned. When we visit a doctor, we expect them to perform their duty and tend to forget that they are also human beings, that they would have their own set of problems and issues. So a show like Sanjivani helps to see that side,” he added.

The show has however not opened to ratings as high as expected. The launch day episode witnessed a TRP of 1.7 while the average ratings are 1.3. The low TRP could be due to the show not getting a prime time slot on television. With such positive reviews from critics and fans, it is kind of surprising that the show did not open to high ratings.