Abhishek Kapoor’s Azaad marked the Bollywood debut of star kids Rasha Thadani and Aaman Devgan, while also introducing popular television actor Mohit Malik to the silver screen. Malik, who has been in showbiz for almost two decades now, was as excited as a newcomer for his Bollywood debut.

Working with Kapoor had always been on his wishlist and he feels fortunate to have it come to fruition. “I never wanted to do films just for the sake of doing it. Abhishek sir was on my wishlist because I love all his films. I remember, when I saw Kai Po Che, I wished to be there someday. The role has to be something which intrigues me or where I think I can do something and prove myself. There are good actors, but there are no good directors. In that sense, I have been lucky that my debut was with Abhishek sir.”

Malik enjoys a strong fanbase in the television world with his shows such as Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala and Doli Armaano Ki being massive hits. But he was never consumed by the thought of debuting in films.

Reflecting on why he waited so long to transition to films, he explained, “I never tried films as I was content and happy doing television. When I came to Bombay, I had to do television to run my house and to earn money. I am a workaholic so I didn’t have the patience to sit down and wait. There was no OTT at that time. There were just films and television. I didn’t have the patience to try for films. As soon as I entered television, I was content. At the same time, I was working on my craft and trying not to get corrupted. Often in television, actors get corrupt because it is a very verbal medium. You can get used to it very quickly. My intention has always been that whatever I do, I should work on myself. Then the OTT boom happened. I started meeting people, doing auditions and branching out.”

On whether he faced biases from filmmakers for coming from the television world, he said, “I don’t think so. If you know your job well and if you’re a good actor, then those who are sensible will give you work. Those actors who say filmmakers look down upon them haven’t worked on themselves and their craft. You have to be smart as an actor to move all the mediums. Most TV actors won’t go for film auditions because they have the ego of being stars on television.”