Which is why he lends credibility to his role as the errant husband in Saans -- torn between his lover, his wife and family. It also explains why his role in Daraar is appreciated. And, while the serial is winding up in a few weeks, as is Andaaz, Kanwaljeet is not running around for work.

``I look at the role, the director and the money before I select a serial. I might sound pompous but I know when I'm there in a serial people relate it with quality. The audience knows that there must be some credibility, some sincerity in the project,'' he says.

And most of his work lives up to these somberly-stated words, starting from Ramesh Sippy's Buniyaad. ``In those days, shooting one episode used to take six days. Today one episode is finished in two days. In some cases, like Andaaz, it just takes a day,'' says Kanwaljeet. Not one to dwell on the past, he does look wistful when he talks about the days of yore, when he was just a fresher in the business.

Not that everything was hunky dory even then. Kanwaljeet recalls the time when he had to walk out of Ekta Kapoor's Captain House on DD Metro. Playing a comic-ghost, he walked out after 12 episodes when the producers went back on the price they had agreed to pay him.

``I just walked out. After all, I have seen days, when I used to stay at Shivaji Park and survive on masca pao (bread and butter). Today, I have a clear picture of what I deserve. And I will not sell myself short of it,'' he clarifies. Again rather seriously.

And it is this earnest turn of mind that took Kanwaljeet away from the world of Hindi cinema. While he has acted in films like Jeevan Ek Sangharsh, Sharth and Maachis, he is now turning down offers from Bollywood.

``The roles that I am offered are not interesting. There are offers from makers who try to cash in on my popularity as a television actor but that is not what I want.''

Which is why after the Dilip Kumar-Amitabh Bachchan starrer Shakti, nearly 15 years ago, Kanwaljeet has not seen a single Hindi film. The only time he watches films is at festivals and in January, he heads to Hyderabad for the Panorama festival. ``Perhaps subconsciously I have a grudge against filmwallahs for not giving me good work. On the other hand, I don't even watch television, specially if I have to watch myself. But as a medium for work, I'm happy with television.''.

For the time being he is content with doing Plus Channel film Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe with Meenakshi Seshadhari. He is also doing a Punjabi film based on the life of poet Shiva Kumar Batalvi. ``I personally adore his work. And since I am fond of poetry, I am happy to play the lead role of Batalvi,'' he says.

Till then, he is serious about being happy, doing good roles and occasionally even being funny.