CHARACTER SIEGE

TV VETERAN JITEN LALWANI WAS BORN TO ACT AND HIS CAREER IS PROOF OF THIS. TINA THAKRAR DIGS DEEPER TO LEARN ABOUT HIS MANY EXPERIENCES AS A PASSIONATE PERFORMER

- TINA THAKRAR

Sometimes in life, if we’re lucky, we are able to identify our talents at a young age. And say you’re tremendously passionate about this skill, and are willing to work on it and see it through to making it your lifelong profession, then you’ve definitely hit the career jackpot. This is pretty much the story of eminent TV actor Jiten Lalwani, who’s been on the acting circuit for over 25 years now, and has worked on almost 75 shows, big and small, to become a household name.

One of TV’s most dependable, easy going and exceedingly talented actors, Jiten has been part of Indian television shows since before the industry boom. He understands the ins and outs of his craft, and this immediately comes through in my chat with him. He looks at acting with a creative, almost philosophical eye, likening it to art that is a lot more embedded in human nature than it seems. In his two decades in the industry, he’s mastered the tools and techniques needed to make his presence felt on screen, no matter how fleeting the role, and does so with complete abandon and great passion.

You probably recognise Jiten from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi - the hugely popular daily soap that sparked a rush of new television shows for a content-hungry audience. Jiten played a prominent role as Kiran Virani, flexing his acting prowess to the maximum. What followed was a successful trajectory, with milestone shows such as Baa Bahoo Aur Baby, Sasural Genda Phool, Diya Aur Baati Hum, Naagin 3, and the hugely popular mythological drama Devo Ke Dev Mahadev as Indradev.