I would love to have a daughter: Shabbir Ahluwalia

BACK IN ACTION Actor Shabbir Ahluwalia shot to fame with the serial Kahiin To Hoga, in which he played Rishi Garewal, and then moved on to the silver screen by acting in movies like Shootout At Lokhandwala and Mission Istanbul. However, despite proving his metal in acting, Shabbir turned to producing serials some time back, but he is now making a comeback to the small screen with the serial Kumkum Bhagya.“I was missing acting and had to come in front of the camera. I have returned to acting after two years since I was busy producing shows like Savitri and Savdhan India.”
FAILED EXPERIMENT? But Shabbir’s stint as a producer wasn’t quite successful as his last high-budget mythological drama Savitri didn’t do quite well and went off air in nine months. “Nothing went wrong with Savitri. Every show has a life span and mere khayal se iska life span kafi kam tha, as it was an experimental show. Everybody still wants saas-bahu shows and love stories. My show was purely on a hit and trial basis.We all aspire to do things differently and to be known for different things. This was my attempt at that. The graphics of Savitri were out of this world and it helped us grab a lot of eyeballs initially, but it was an expensive show to maintain.”
WEIGHT AND WATCH Now Shabbir is trying to ensure he has a succesful comback to acting. And the actor has gone for a complete makeover for his next serial. “I have worked a lot on my look of a rockstar in the serial. I have been gymming a lot, playing squash, badminton, I have lost 12 kilos for this look. As I am playing a rockstar, so there will be many moments where I will have to go shirtless. Though I haven’t reduced my diet, as I love eating, I make sure I burn the extra calories.”
NO SHAADI KE SIDE EFFECTS Ask Shabbir if he has plans to work with his wife – actress Kanchi Kaul who is presently playing the lead in Meri Bhabhi..., and he laughs out loud saying, “Kanchi is too expensive, yaar!” He adds, “She is doing a fabulous job in her serial. We spend so much time at work that by the time we come home we want to discuss something other than work. And if we both work together, there will be nothing else to talk about. We are both adventure freaks and love to spend our spare time doing adventure sports.” Shabbir and Kanchi have now been married for two years, but Shabbir says the romance is still alive in their relationship. “Nothing has changed post marriage for me as Kanchi and I are still like friends. Mujhe abhi bhi aisa hi lagta hai ki hum dono date karr rahe hain. The only difference is that she comes back to my home,” he shares.
DAD’S THE WAY But one thing has definitely changed for the couple as they are expecting their first baby. “It is too soon to talk about parenthood as Kanchi got pregnant only recently. But yes, I am very happy with the latest development in my life. I can’t wait. I would love to have a daughter as ladkiyan sahi kar deti hain fathers ko, especially mere jaise ko. It is a proven fact that daughters are more close to fathers than sons. But jo bhi ho, achha hi ho,” he laughs.