Purab Kohli recalls getting many offers after Rock On: ‘There was an explosion of work but…’

Purab Kohli has said that he received many offers soon after Rock On, but he decided to reject those as he did not want to be repeating himself in similar roles. Purab starred alongside Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Prachi Desai and Luke Kenny in the 2008 film that gained cult status in pop culture. (Also read: Purab Kohli takes a ‘short break’ to spend time with family)

Rock On won seven Filmfare Awards, and received positive reviews, though the box office numbers were not too favourable. The film has been archived at the Academy Film Archive library. A sequel to the film also came out in 2016, but it was widely panned by critics.

Purab told Indian Express in an interview, “After Rock On, I was so excited as there was an explosion of work. I was also told that the time is good, so I should say yes to everything that came my way. But soon I realised that KD (Kedar ‘Killer Drummer’ Zaveri, Purab’s character in Rock On) was spilling into everything. I couldn’t shake him off and every role that I played started looking funny. ”

He added, “That’s when I decided that I need to take a break. You do need time to shake these characters off as they get stuck to you. But at times, it’s really not so easy to leave your characters behind and walk away.”

Purab will soon be seen in the third instalment of the popular franchise, Criminal Justice. The Disney+ Hotstar original see Pankaj Tripathi reprising his role of lawyer Madhav Mishra and Shweta Basu Prasad will join him for the new season. The show lands online on August 26, Friday.

In an interview with Hindustan Times earlier this year, Purab said he is in a good space right now. “For me, life is good, touchwood. Because when you are refusing more work than you are doing, I think that means you are in a good space, and that you are really getting a lot of work. Right now, it is very important for me to choose to take some time off as well. I have just come back to London after three months in Mumbai where I finished my next. Now, I have decided to be in London with my family for a few months, and not work,” he said in May.