Varun Sood on the world of reality shows, Call Me Bae and more | EXCLUSIVE

As someone who has been a part of shows like Roadies, Splitsvilla, Ace of Space and Khatron Ke Khiladi, Varun Sood has consciously decided to not participate in any other reality show as a contestant after his transition to acting.

"No no, I am not going to participate in any reality show. I think this transition was very much needed in my life. I wanted to do something... Even when I was at my first workshop as an actor, I wanted to excel in that and I kept working towards it. It was a conscious decision on my behalf that I don't want to be participating in any reality show as a contestant and I am glad it worked out," said Sood, when asked if he will be seen on any other reality show in the future.

The actor, who recently starred in Call Me Bae, is currently busy with a reality show, but in a different role. Titled Reality Ranis of The Jungle, the show features Sood as its host.

Sharing details about the show featuring 12 female contestants, Sood explained that every contestant is a familiar face and has been a part of at least one reality show in the past. "They have all done excellently well in their respective shows. This particular show is all about surviving in the jungle - it's raw and authentic. We are not camoflauging anything and there have been times where these girls have had to stay outside in a jungle without any sleeping bag, even when it rained. So we've gone as raw as you can imagine," he said.

Sood, who is not new to the world of reality shows, feels the circle is complete. "I was oddly very comfortable doing it. I have a responsibility - I wanted contestants and viewers to see me as a fair and good show host overall," he said, adding that he wishes the show gets renewed for another season.

For Sood, Rannvijay Singha is the one celebrity host who has inspired him. "Our bond goes way back, it's been ten years! He's one of the best hosts we have in India. What I have learnt from his hosting style is that if you keep it natural and fair, and if you work towards the betterment of the show and do a fair job as a host - people see that."

Asked as to why a series with an all women contestant line-up has a male host, Sood explained, "When you are part of the show where there are 12 women and there's a competiton, these women are fierce and strong - they really want to win. I think the only calming factor could've been a man trying to sort eveything and make peace with everyone. I think this was the intention of having a male host."

From the world of reality shows to other OTT shows and movies, Sood is grateful viewers now know him by his character names, for instance, Prince from Call Me Bae.

But the journey hasn't been as easy, and rejections have been a part and parcel of the profession. "There have been times when I have gone for advertisment auditions and had to stand in lines and someone has looked at me and said, 'Na, not you.' Imagine I have waited for three hours and got rejected by not even auditioning, but just by someone looking at me. I am not saying it's a sad story, these are normal things. Literally every actor experiences it - you learn from it and you grow from it."

Now having been a part of several other projects including Potluck and Karmma Calling, Sood's biggest lesson is to keep at it. "There are times when nothing will happen for you, there are times when you will probably see a ray of hope and then nothing happens. But if you are consistent with what you want to do and what you are aiming for - the things will eventually happen. They might take some time - so my only lesson islage raho- even if the times are bad,lage raho," he shared.