Ram Kapoor says had no work for three years, lost out on big OTT shows: 'A Suitable Boy helped me shatter my TV image' - Exclusive

Ram Kapoor in a still from A Suitable Boy

TV actor Ram Kapoor was a household name on TV with hit shows like Bade Achhe Lagte Hain and Kasamh Se. The actor, who has just delivered another hit with his new show Mistry on OTT, said not many know that he was out of work for almost three years after quitting TV.

In an industry obsessed with chiseled abs and sculpted jaws, Ram Kapoor once defied all odds. At one point, he was overweight and didn’t even fit the 'leading man' mould. Despite this, his appearances in popular shows won him admirers.

Ram Kapoor's trajectory has been anything but traditional, beginning with the daily shows that made him a household name and then quitting TV to focus on OTT and movies. With his new and fitter self, Ram has impressed all with his unconventional role in the Mistry, where he plays a man with OCD but has a sharp mind.

In an exclusive, no-holds-barred conversation with Moneycontrol, Ram Kapoor opened up about the time when he was fat and 'huge',  him being out of work for three years, his complicated equation with producer Ekta Kapoor, and why he’s finally content doing less work.

Also Read: Exclusive - Ram Kapoor thanks audience for loving Mistry despite the controversy: 'I was enjoying the luxury of being a brat...'

Got all the love even when I was 'fat'

“To get this kind of love when you're that fat, how lucky am I? In an industry where everybody is trying to look their best, I was looking my worst and still got that kind of love,” laughed Ram Kapoor.

Ram Kapoor never shied away from being the “big guy” on screen. In fact, it became a part of his onscreen charm and even today fans love him more for his earlier fat appearance.

“You can't get this kind of a career without luck. It's not talent. Talent just gets you a start. After that, people want professionalism and a good work environment. Nobody has time for talent. But without luck, you cannot be in this position. And I’m very blessed that I am this," he said.

In the early 2000s, everyone saw Ram Kapoor on small screens and on hoardings. From Kasamh Se to Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, he was Indian television’s most beloved patriarch, romantic hero, and flawed husband - sometimes all in the same episode. He spent over a decade ruling prime-time slots.

Can never neglect TV 

"No matter how long I work for, I will always be known by Bade Achhe Lagte Hain. And I think it’s a good thing,” he said, unapologetically. He draws a rather fitting parallel with Friends star Jennifer Aniston. "Jennifer Aniston is doing big films, but she’s still known as Rachel. That’s how big Friends was. Similarly, TV did for me what it did for her. I became a household name."

But TV, despite its comforts, became a creative cage, says Ram. At one point of time he was among the highest paid actors on the small screens but decided to take a break to crack OTT and movies.

“The more successful you are, the more money you're making, the more you have to keep doing that same role. The growth stops.” And so, after 15 years of non-stop work, Ram Kapoor said he decided to walk away.

No work for three years

What followed wasn’t the dream transition he’d imagined. It was silence. And rejection due to his 'too big an image on TV.' Ram Kapoor says his success on TV worked against him on OTT.

“For three years, I was not doing the kind of work I wanted to. I was getting very bad offers. And even when I was in the running for good OTT projects, at the last stage, someone would say, ‘No, he's too big on TV. He is THE Ram Kapoor of TV. People knew me too well. I was Ram Kapoor. So, for three years, I didn’t work. But I didn’t take bad projects because, luckily, there was no need for money," he said.

But Ram Kapoor says he finally cracked the OTT platform with Mira Nair's A Suitable Boy in 2020. In A Suitable Boy, Ram impressed the audience with his portrayal of Mahesh Kapoor, a conscientious politician navigating the intricacies of post-independence India.

Ram, as Maan Kapoor's strict but compassionate father (played by Ishaan Khatter), captured the emotional tug-of-war between personal disappointment and civic obligation with surprising depth. Ram Kapoor finally managed to ditch his TV character with restraint, dignity, and gravitas, establishing himself as a serious actor on the world stage, marking a watershed moment in his career.

“That shattered my TV image completely. It was BBC, it was English, and it was very intense. I’m hitting my son, tearing his clothes. It was hardcore. That’s when the OTT platforms started calling. That’s when all the work came. But people don’t know — I waited three years," he added.

Mistry, Movies & Mindfulness

Ram Kapoor says now he finds himself in an interesting phase. He has nothing to prove. The OTT success is flowing (Human, Abhay 2, A Suitable Boy), his show Mistry is a hit, and yet, he’s saying no more often than yes.

“Now I get the kind of OTTs that I want, the films that I want but I don’t want all of them to get there.”

Ram says he is in no rush. He's waiting for a couple of movie projects to release but isn’t actively seeking work.

"It’s a marathon, not a sprint. If you want a 40-year career, you have to be okay with the ups and downs."

At 51, Ram Kapoor is anything but conventional. He’s dropped weight, dropped the pressure, and dropped the need to please everyone.

Ram says he's focusing on work that stimulates him, not typecasts him. He’s seen the peaks of stardom and when his career was at a standstill. Ram says now he wants to do only quality work.

Excerpts from the interview: 

Ques: Was it a conscious decision to quit TV despite being on Top? 

Ram Kapoor: Yes, TV after some point the growth stops because the more successful you are, the more money you're making, and the more you have to keep doing that same role for years and years and years. So, the growth stops. That's where I was having the problem. Whatever I was doing was successful. 'Kashamh Se and Bade Achhe Lage Hain were for 3 years each. You're doing the same role for so long.

So for 15 years, I just did it nonstop because I wanted to make a name, a brand, money, everything for my family. Once I achieved that, then I started realising that I'm not growing. Plus the audience only wanted the same branding again and again, but it was taking a toll on my personal growth. So, I took a decision and I didn't know that I was going to be making it in OTT or films? Because at that point nobody knows not every person in TV makes it in that.

Watch our exclusive interview now:

"When I stopped television, for three years, I was not really doing the kind of work I wanted to. For three years, I was getting a lot of very bad offers, which I was not taking. And the kind of good offers that I was getting on OTT, many of them in the last stage I would not get it, because the platform, somebody said, no, he's too big on TV. We can't use him. He's the Ram of TV. I came with so much baggage. So for three years, some of the biggest shows, I used to come from the top 10 to the top six to the top three to the top two. And finally, somebody would say, guys, maybe we can't take around the whole country knows him as Ram Kapoor, he is the Ram Kapoor of TV. For three years, I was not doing work. People don't realise it took three years for me to finally get accepted as an OTT."

Was being a household name on TV a hinderance at any point? 

Ram Kapoor:   I will never disregard what TV did for me. No matter how long of career, I'm very lucky I have a 24-year career. But even if I have a 25-year-more career, TV did for me what it did for the cast of FRIENDS.  Today, Jennifer Aniston has been doing films for 20 years, but she's still known as Rachel. Jennifer Aniston, the others are either retired or doing other stuff. But Jennifer Aniston is doing big, big, big films. Non-stop, it's been 20 years. She's always known as Rachel of FRIENDS because it's that big. I consider it like that. No matter how long I work for, I will always be known by Bade Achhe Lagte Hain. I think it's a good thing because there's nothing wrong with it. It made me a household name."

You were fat on screen, still loved. What do you have to say about that? 

Ram Kapoor: Everybody says that they loved me when I was fat. That just shows how much they love me. To get this kind of love when you're that fat, how lucky am I? How lucky am I? In an industry where everybody is trying the best to look their best, I was looking my worst and still got that kind of love. So whenever anyone says to me, we like that Ram Kapoor, it reminds me of how much they love to be like that. I'm very lucky. You can't get this kind of a career without luck. It's not talent. It just gets you a start where people say, he knows his job. Call it. That's it. After that, nobody wants time. They want professionalism. They want a good person to be around and they want a respectable work environment. Nobody wants talent. Nobody has time for talent. However, without luck, it is impossible to reach this position. And I'm very blessed that I am this."

Ram Kapoor says now he wants to wait and watch before he signs any new project.