By Ila Sankrityayan

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS): TV presenter, comedian and actor Maniesh Paul says that he is looking forward to his OTT debut with Ritam Srivastav's directorial thriller drama.

Not sharing much about the project, he said: "I am happy to get roles where I can show my skills as an actor beyond just one genre that is comedy. I cannot talk much about this web series but I am not playing a comic character and it is a very interesting role about which I will be able to talk more in December.

"It's a thriller drama and I was very happy when this project came to me as now people will see me doing something different.

He is keen on doing more fictional projects and exploring himself as an actor.

Maniesh is all set to host the celebrity dance reality show 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10', which is coming back after five years and he feels that post the last season of this show the biggest thing happened to him is that Karan Johar offered him 'Jugjugg Jeeyo'.

He tells IANS: "It is like when one door closes, the other opens for you. Post 'Jhalak' Karan Sir offered me 'Jugjugg Jeeyo' and that was really a profitable thing for me. People started recognising me as an actor and in fact those who once rejected me are coming with different kinds of offers and I am really excited to see my acting graph moving ahead."

Furthermore, Maniesh shares how he keeps himself evolving as a host with every show so that the audience can see a different side of him.

"Hosting is really challenging, I don't think hosting is easy at all. A lot of people used to think that hosting is all about just going and you have a 30-page script, just read it out and come back home. I never did that from day one. I've always tried to go beyond the script."

"I've always worked hard on that and I feel it's my responsibility to add entertainment and fun into it. So, I've always done that. I've always taken care of the contestants. By the end of the season, I don't remember any contestant not being in touch with me, all of them are in touch with me because I became family."

He continues on how he motivates the contestants during the show: "There are days they have a great performance. There are days they have a bad performance and that day, they're closest to me, because I'm the one standing closest to them."

"I can feel their pulse, I can feel their heartbeat. I can feel at times they might get demoralised with what the judges are saying. Because at the end of the day, nobody likes to hear criticism. That is the time I stand with them and say next time you'll do better and I'm happy that people appreciate all."

How he looks at Karan and Madhuri Dixit as judges: "I found them very down to earth and grounded with me or contestants or the makers and channel people and I think we must learn this trait from them," he concludes.

'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10' is all set to start from September 3 on Colors.