Actor Eijaz Khan, who was there on 'Bigg Boss 14', considers himself fortunate to have received so much love, affection, and prayer from his fans during and after the reality show. At the time of this interview, the 44-year-old was recovering from Covid. He'd been consumed by his sinuses and fatigue. Khan spoke to ETimes about his upcoming projects, personal and professional growth, 'Bigg Boss', and his wish for everyone to stay safe and sound in these unsettling times.
"I was supposed to start dubbing but because of sinus inflammation which is due to Covid, I couldn't do so. I finished an OTT film last year. This is different from the roles like the hard-hitting and strong ones that I've done previously. This is a very vulnerable role. This was more human than most of the roles that I've done. It got challenging to shoot the whole film in 15 days. We shot in Baroda and in some parts of Mumbai. I was supposed to start shooting for another digital film on January 25 but unfortunately due to the Omicron wave, it got pushed," the actor said.
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Speaking on how the pandemic affected his professional and personal life he said, "If we talk about the pandemic period, prior to doing Bigg Boss 14, that was very challenging. All of a sudden we were clueless about what was going on with our lives. I was shooting for the second season of one of my digital shows, and 25 days' schedule was left but we had to stop the shoot. It was supposed to happen but looking at whatever challenges our country, our people were going through, it was very disheartening. If you make yourself the centre of the world and are worried just about yourself then that is not the right approach. It would be wrong to just think about yourself whereas on the other hand, people were trying to walk to their hometown for a month. It was mentally also very disturbing. I don't even know if I am in the position to even talk about it because I had a roof on my head, had food and was safe, I can barely say anything."
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Talking about being followed by paparazzi he said, "Firstly, I would want to say that we are extremely blessed that there are so many people who remember us in their prayers, want to see us, so many sweet genuine souls showering their love, affection and prayers. If I say 'yaar, mai thak jaata hun' (I get tired of being followed everywhere) then I should be slapped tight because the situation that I am in, more than half of the world's population would do anything to be in that space. So, I shouldn't be complaining."
Finally, concluding with being active on social media he said, "Now, there has been an exponential increase in my social media followers and the people who love me. It is because of Bigg Boss. The show was about revealing your true personality for 24 hours, fighting for one's own survival, keeping forth your opinion, etc. but that was a microcosm, which was being telecast. So, I had to do it and I happily did it but I am out of that world now. I don't want to have an opinion on each and every Bigg Boss contestant now. I don't want to share my opinion, maybe. I don't want to show my conflicted sides that show me confrontational because that is unnatural. If you are having a fight, should you open up a camera and say 'See, I am standing up for myself?' We don't do that. Unfortunately, if a certain section of my audience has only loved that and come to me, seeking that 24*7, they are not going to get that now. And, I am such a person that if I am in a good mood then I will not take my own selfie. I'd rather take my picture with Pavitra or with my nieces, nephews, brothers, if I am with them or with a pet. I am not showcasing everything that is happening in my life by the hour. Actually, I have started losing my social media followers, and I feel that is okay because I cannot do that 24*7."
"Hats off to people who can walk that plank, who are constantly thinking of what reel to make and how to portray it in the most ecstatic manner. I have nothing against them. I come from a time where there was no social media. Facebook came in 2006, I was almost leaving television by then. So, we didn't have that and only had access to people like you, who would take our views out-end. Sometimes, they were sensationalised for headlines but we are not bi-products of that per se," concluded Khan.
