Seven months of the lockdown have brought Sunny Singh closer to his extended family and friends he had not met for a while. He describes it as “going back to my college days” and revels in the fact that he’s been eating home-cooked food, playing carrom and ludo with family, watching old movies and having long chats with cousins. On October 6, the Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety actor turned 35 quietly with a visit to the gurudwara and some quality family time.

“Usually my friends plan a surprise party for me; this year, had it not been for the lockdown, I’d have been in the Maldives. Maybe next year now,” he sighs, remembering how, as a child, it would take him a whole day to open his many gifts. “This year, on my birthday, I asked God and the scientists to give us a Coronavirus vaccine ASAP.”

Being at home has given him time to work out twice a day. Is a six-pack on its way? “I’ve built two already; that’s all I could manage on my own. Now, with every month, one more will come,” he laughs, revealing that some time ago, one of his bodyguards gifted him a clubbell and he’s been working out with that too. “It’s very motivational.”

It has been almost a year since Sunny’s first film as the solo lead, Ujda Chaman, hit theatres, and even though it didn’t work commercially, the actor insists that his histrionics earned him a lot of respect. “Also, many from within and outside the industry related to the theme of premature balding. It’s the kind of connection people still have with Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety,” he avers.

So, are Pyaar Ka Punchnama 3 and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety 2 on his list of future films? “I have no idea, but Luv Ranjan is still the No 1 director on my list. I also want to work with Rajkumar Hirani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Imtiaz Ali. And I really like Shraddha Kapoor; she’s sweet and simple,” he says with a smile in his voice.

It’s been nine years since he entered the industry but Sunny insists it will take 15-20 years to build a brand like his idols, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar. “Their choices are simple, and they have proved that if you take time, good things happen,” he asserts, sighing over the fact that after a seven months gap, a lot of projects are in a limbo. “I don’t even know if they will happen now. I am waiting for announcements from the makers so that even I have clarity about the future.”