Television sweetheart and popular host Karan Tacker recently made his acting debut in the web space with Neeraj Pandey’s Special OPS. Playing undercover agent Farooq Ali, the TV star also dabbled in the action genre with this hit show that earned him much critical acclaim aswell as praise fro industry stalwarts including filmmaker Karan Johar. Right from intense shoot-out scenes to high-octane action sequences involving cars, the show had him do it all. However, while the actor admits that he holds this role closest to his heart and loved doing every bit of the action involved, he revealed that it also made him face his worst fear!
Talking about it, the actor recalled shooting a particular scene that required him to be standing on the ledge of the terrace of a high-rise building. In this emotionally-charged scene, his character Farooq Ali is shown to be contemplating taking a step closer off the ledge that could prove fatal. While on paper, it seems easily doable, what Karan had not told anyone was that he is afraid of heights, which would make the already challenging scene a difficult one for him to shoot. “I had a safety harness on and the team had taken every measure to ensure my safety too. But I am really scared of heights and the scene required me to look all the way down. So, that really gave me the jitters. The harness also had to be placed in a way that it would not show in the camera, so it meant that in case of a fall, I could topple but would be suspended by a rope, which was just as scary,” revealed the actor. However, the actor managed to impress all with his perfect take.
Karan adds, “I had tears in my eyes and luckily for me, my character was required to cry, so I could get away with crying for real. I can laugh now, but back then it was scary as hell!” So is he cured of his phobia for good then? The actor thinks not! “I don’t want to think about it. I don’t think I’m cured of my fear yet, but if another scene requires me to face the fears again, well I just might,” smiles Karan.