Pankit Thakker, Vahbiz to launch chat show

Mumbai: Actor-entrepreneur Pankit Thakker will foray into direction and production with soon-to-be launched "Showbiz with Vahbiz" chat show with business partner Vahbiz Dorabjee.

Asked if the "Kabhii Sautan Kabhii Sahelii" actor always dreamt of directing, he said in a statement: "Not really. I have been an actor and will always continue to be one. When Vahbiz and I started out with our business partnership, we never thought that we would get into production so soon, but we were on the same page. We wanted to make some good content."

"Both of us are working actors, so we knew that we wanted to do something that will not cut down on our acting offers. Whether I would get into direction or not... I hadn't thought about it. I realized that I enjoyed direction while making the pilot of our chat show, 'Showbiz with Vahbiz'," he added.

The process of putting a show together and working with the cast and crew as a director-producer "felt good".

When did he start writing the script of the show?

"I guess that happened when Vahbiz told me 'let's work on a chat show'. Working in TV for so long... the experience of working as an actor and an artiste, the whole discipline of writing was already instilled in my system," he said.

Has acting helped him?

"Hundred per cent. Acting always challenges our creativity. Whenever we enact scenes... it is almost like an exercise. When you remember dialogues and create moments out of that, there's a certain kind of education happening even within that kind of space," he said.

"It is playful and fun, and I will always continue my journey as an actor. I guess most intelligent actors know how to go about direction, but it is a choice."

Pankit doesn't "like distractions" and needs to be alone while writing.

"It also depends a lot on the nature of the content we are shooting. So, how you approach a content, becomes really important," he said.

At times, there are certain external factors that play a role.

"For example, when we are shooting with actors who are committed to a show and already tied up due to current and ongoing daily soaps; we aren't only following the deadlines set by the production team but also working along the deadlines set by these actors," he said.

"So, a certain kind of discipline is required. If an actor says �We are coming at 7 p.m. and will leave by 10 p.m. then they would stick to it. That means that you have to drive and motivate your crew in a different way.

"But if you are shooting with actors that allow you to have a certain kind of flexibility, your demeanour changes...And sets are always chaotic. I wish that wasn't the case."

The first season of "Showbiz with Vahbiz" will features actors like Divyanka Tripathi, Vivek Dahiya, Manish Raisinghani, Avika Gor and Drashti Dhami.