Anup Soni: People sometimes miss out on me as an actor, because of the overshadowing popularity of Crime Patrol – Exclusive – Times of India

Most associate you as the face and anchor of Crime Patrol and as an actor for Balika Vadhu. These are two completely different genres. How did they help you grow as an actor?
If I say that these didn’t help me, then I’ll be a person who has no gratitude. Basically, both programmes are from different genres. Popularity and reach wise, both shows helped me tremendously. Both were game changers in television. When Balika Vadhu came out in 2008, the zip zap camera angles and many turnarounds were brand new in daily soaps. The scenes, dialogues, script, actors, everything was good.

Crime Patrol was one of the most popular shows on an ‘entertainment channel.’ Nobody thought that a crime show with disturbing scenes that was not really making people happy, would be there on an entertainment channel.

So, both were game changers in themselves, and luckily I was part of both of them. I will always be thankful to both of them. Since 2014, I only did Crime Patrol, but the show became so popular that I began to be associated only with Crime Patrol and I missed out on a lot of acting opportunities. People would say, “Who’s Anup Soni? Oh, that Crime Patrol anchor.” People forgot that I am a trained actor. That I have a lot of body of work as an actor.

However, Crime Patrol gave me popularity; a name of my own. People started knowing me as Anup Soni, not as a character from a daily soap.

Television ka ek chotta sa drawback yeh bhi hain, ki aap same cheez ko kai saalon se karte rehte ho. I had never anchored earlier, but I worked on how I am going to present this show, because I wanted connectivity with the audience. I didn’t want it to be a sensationalised programme, where I am just glorifying crime as an anchor. I had to sound genuine, so I worked on the style, how I am going to speak, but once it became popular, then you are not adding anything more to that.


Television mein ek character set ho gaya hain. Logon ko pasand aa gaya. Uske baad grow nahin ho paate aap. Television does not help you to grow as an actor; it helps you to grow your bank balance, for sure.


You are a graduate of National School of Drama, and theatre led you to Mumbai. How have you adapted your theatre expertise to acting for TV, films and OTT? What is more enjoyable?
There is a preparation for every role that you are going to play, whether for films, TV or OTT. Your preparation for the character is the same; you are going to put the same amount of thought process, effort, and preparation to build that character. You know that on the highway, you can go at 80 to 90 kmph speed; when you are driving in a market area, you know you can’t go at 80 kmph. There are technical differences between all the mediums.
Aap apne aap ko adapt kar lete hain us traffic kay hisaab sey.

Theatre is a wide shot throughout, and you can’t zoom, but you have to maintain a certain honesty with your performance.

What are you concentrating on right now? Is it theatre or acting for OTT series or films?
My first priority is films and OTT. There is a reason for that. I don’t want to sound dismissive towards television. With due respect, television has given me a lot. But, the reason why I am focusing only on films and OTT is because I am not going to do the same things year after year. I am going to finish one web series or one film and then get into another film or web series. There are different people, directors, look, role, atmosphere, co-actors; so the possibility of growth is more. If you look at it from an actor’s point of view,
successful hone ki possibility zyaada hai wahan pe. The primary reason to focus on films and OTT is that I want variety. I want change. I want to look forward to my new roles, new directors; then I will also learn something.

I do stage also, my play is always on – Ballygunge 1990.

Are you happy with your roles on OTT platforms, such as in your film Khakee: The Bihar Chapter and Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt. Ltd?
As far as characters are concerned, I am very happy. At least, people are seeing me in different avatars. I only do roles I am happy to be a part of. In Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt. Ltd, my character is a central character. In Khakee, I play one of the six important characters. However, every actor wishes to have the lead or bigger roles. In due course, I wish that
kahaani mein lead roles ke liye bhi consider kiya jaaye. And I know that I can do it. For the lead, they consider the star value; but I know that there will be lead or central characters that will suit me only and come to me.

Besides acting, what other hobbies do you have? You’ve done a course in Crime Scene Investigation…

That was during the lockdown, when we had a lot of time. Otherwise, my hobbies are watching movies, and I read a lot, especially biographies and autobiographies. Lots of non-fiction, too.

Which are your favourites?
In autobiographies, I have read all the big names, all popular names including humanitarians, business people, actors, politicians and cricketers. Recently, I read Masters on Masters, written by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.


The cops and criminals genre has found a new life on OTT. But when you were presenting it on TV some years ago, was the perception distinctly different?
Crime Patrol was a different kind of show. We try to recreate a fictional drama inspired by a case. It is clear that the police worked on the case and the culprit was eventually caught. Now, whether it took six months or two years, we had to show all of this in a 40-minute episode. That doesn’t allow us to show all details like whether the victim and the witnesses cooperated, or how many times they went to the police station. The important thing was that the police solved the case.

On OTT, the cops are portrayed in a real manner. OTT stories are meant to be relatable; they are more real-life scenarios.


What are you working on at the moment?
There are two web series, with roles that are poles apart from each other. Both are for prominent OTT platforms, with a good star cast and very well-written. In one, I am playing a very ruthless guy, which people have never seen me as. People will definitely be surprised to see me in that kind of a role.

Ruthless as the hero or villain?
He is not a good guy for sure, but you can’t even say that he is a bad guy. You will like him as a character. He is ruthless in the sense that
zindagi mein kuch chahiye, toh kuch bhi kar dega! The other character is a nice guy, but with lots of shades of grey.

There are two independent films, which I have done. One is Mirg. The other film is Kabir, which is quite an interesting contemporary film. They are ready now. The shooting is over. I am really excited about these two films. In both, I am the lead character. They should be out by the middle of the year.

You are married to an actor, Juhi Babbar. Have both of you ever worked together in theatre and other projects?
We have done a play called Begum Jaan. She has done two films now and one web series. She has written, acted, directed and produced a play. It is like a solo performance. We exchange a lot of notes about our work. We discuss a lot.

Do you learn from each other?
She reads out her scripts to me and we discuss roles. I read her script and give feedback. There are times when I have shooting the next day and I read out my scripts to her and I voice out to her whether I should present it in this way or another way. The director makes the final call, but he is happier to see that the actor too has done some preparation and interpretation of the role.


Would you like to share an interesting story about yourself?
People are sometimes missing out on me as an actor, because of the overshadowing popularity of Crime Patrol. I really want to tell filmmakers of the old as well as the new generation that I am an actor first from the National School of Drama. It is only a matter of time once people have a different perception of me as an actor.

The markets also sometimes guide the situation. Like someone has a certain image. This whole image thing can be very bugging for an actor. An actor can play any kind of role. I often think that as an actor, I have not been explored fully. That’s the reason I keep doing plays also. I get to play roles which are more varied and exciting.