Yet another blue eyed boy of the soap queen Ekta Kapoor has showed the guts to say no to her. Jay Bhanushali, who won the hearts of the audiences with his performance in Ekta Kapoor's serial Kayamat first and later on with his dancing prowess in the reality dance show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, actually has had the guts to turn down Ekta's offer to act in her forthcoming mythological magnum opus Mahabharat.

When contacted, Jay Bhanushali prefers to be frank and does not beat round the bush.

Jay confesses that Ekta Kapoor indeed told her that she was keen on casting him in her show Mahabharat in the role of Sahadev, one of the five Pandavas.

"Right now, I am not acting in any show and did not have the problem of adjusting my dates but yet I told Ekta that I would not be able to do her show for the simple reason that I feel that I am not cut out to do period dramas on television," explains Jay.

Jay further adds, "I just cannot bring myself to mouth chaste Hindi cum Sanskrit tongue twisting dialogues and don ill fitting period costumes and wear a mukut, after having essayed aam aadmi ka roles in serials like Kayamat.

In fact, having watched the earlier versions of Mahabharat on television right from my childhood, I also know for a fact that the role of Sahadev is not a long running one and I could have easily accepted Ekta's offer and did the role for a few episodes but I did not want to do it because I really know I will not be comfortable doing a costume drama

. I explained my point of view to Ekta and contrary to what people think of her, she clearly understood my point of view without any ego problem and we shook hands and parted ways.

She has assured me that she would cast me in any other non period show of hers. I may even do a reality show for her in the near future , because I will always be indebted to her for having given me my big break on television."

Jay confesses that, like Prachi Desai, who is making her debut in films with Rock On opposite Farhan Akhtar and Rajeev Khandelwal who has made his debut with Aamir, he also is now aiming for a career in films since he feels that he has had his fill as far as TV is concerned, though he admits that it is TV which has made him what he is.

"I want to prove my versatility as an actor by acting in films. My idol is Aamir Khan. I want to do a few selected films and focus more on quality than quantity.

That is one of the reasons I have been steadfastly declining most of the offers I am getting these days post Kayamat and Jhalak Dikhla Jaa for acting in daily soaps. I do not want to get burnt out too soon," concludes Jay. - Jyothi Venkatesh