Jyoti Kanyal and Unnati Joshi (BOMBAY TIMES; September 25, 2018)

Greeting guests with a welcome song as Gutthi or turning into the ever-flirtatious Dr Mashoor Gulati, comedian Sunil Grover has slipped convincingly into multiple personas on television. And now, set for his next cinematic turn as ‘Dipper Narad Muni’ in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Pataakha, he is the “chingaari” who causes the tension between the two pataakhas, Badki (Radhika Madan) and Chhutki (Sanya Malhotra). Sunil talks to us about his changing status in the industry, people’s expectations from a comedian and more. Excerpts:

‘I DON’T APPROACH MY CHARACTERS AS A WOMAN OR A MAN’
Having worked as a comedian for his entire career, Sunil has never feared being typecast, despite playing some famous characters for a long time. He says, “If you are doing comedy, people expect you to be at your comic best always. They say, ‘ek chutkula sunao bhai’. It happens, but I am okay with it. Yeh samay samay ki baat hai. I am an entertainer and it’s my job to entertain them. And yes, people do typecast you. When I used to do radio and played a character called Sud, people told me that you have become Sud and now you can’t play anything else. Then Gutthi happened to me and one of the show’s directors told me that the character was such a success that whatever I do, people will only call me Gutthi.”

‘I’M DOING COMPARATIVELY SUBSTANTIAL ROLES. I’M ON MY WAY’
After Pataakha, Sunil has started shooting for the Salman Khan-starrer Bharat. Does he think the film industry is finally realising his worth? He replies, “It’s a journey. Unless you go through everything, you don’t grow. I started with theatre, did some live shows here and there. I also did radio and small roles on TV and films. And then television happened to me in a big way. I had to go through the grind to do what I’m doing today. It’s a new chapter and a new medium for me – new medium because now I’m doing comparatively substantial roles. I’m on my way.”

‘CHINGAARI KO KAISE AAG BANANA HAI, WOH DIPPER KO AATA HAI’
Dipper Narad Muni is the name of Sunil’s character in Pataakha. “Why Dipper? Because whenever he’s excited, his eyes start twitching,” says Sunil, adding, “He gets excited when the two sisters fight and does everything he can to make them fight. Chingaari ko kaise aag banana hai, woh isse aata hai. Agar Badki aur Chhutki pataakha hain, toh Dipper woh chingaari hai jisse dhamaaka hoga.”

‘WORKING WITH VISHAL BHARDWAJ IS A DREAM COME TRUE’
From starting his Bollywood journey as a barber in Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha (1998) two decades ago, today he’s living his dream of working with Vishal Bhardwaj. He says, “The most important reason I said yes to this film is its director, Vishal Bhardwaj. For a long time, I wanted to work with him, and when the chance was presented to me, I grabbed it. This is one of my dreams come true.”

‘I WOULD LOVE TO RETURN TO TV’
Although Sunil is busy with his big screen outings, he does want to return to TV once his film commitments are fulfilled. He says, “I’m busy shooting for my upcoming film for the next few months. After that, if I’m offered TV shows, I would love to do them.” And while he is shooting with Salman Khan, Sunil is also mingling with the ‘Khan’dan. He tells us, “It was wonderful to get to know the Khan family up close. They are a close-knit family and treat you as a family member. I met them while shooting for Bharat. I also attended Arpita’s (Salman’s sister) Ganpati puja a few days ago. I really enjoyed being with them.”