Mahesh Thakur is back with a bang after a hiatus of ten months. And he is playing a principal in Synergy Adlabs' new show, to be aired on Indrani Mukerjea's new channel. Here is a conversation with the actor.

Q. Tell us about the production and direction teams, now that you are on sets after such a long time.
A. The production team is superlative. As for the direction team, I have seen the rushes, and rough cuts, and whatever I have seen is superb.

Q. You agreed to act as a father.
A. That is not important, in fact, I have played a father in 'Shararat', too. Although the role is important, I am doing this more because I am getting to work with Synergy Adlabs, one of the best production houses in India, and, of course, Siddhartha Basu.

Q. Tell us something about your character.
A. I play the role of a Principal, who has his values right. He is not a regressive man. He is the kind of parent that every child would be proud of.

Q. The story is based on a Gujarati family. Did you have to work towards an accent?
A. Not really. Since I am playing the role of the Principal, I did not have to incorporate the Gujarati accent.

Q. Where were you all these months? We have not seen much of you on screen.
A. I was not happy with whatever was coming my way. I got a few offers, but nothing excited me enough. My previous serials are on re-run on various channels, so people think I am not working enough.

I last shot for 'Shararat' in November, and 'Jiya Jale' began in September. I was busy with ads and features, and I also went and visited my mother in the USA. I did all the things I could not do when I was busy with my shooting schedules.

Q. You are never involved in any controversy. How do you manage to be discreet about your personal life?
A. People become discreet. The first rule for avoiding scandals is not to get into them, and the second is, never give out your number to everybody.