Thappad (2020) opened doors for him in Bollywood, and now, Pavail Gulati has a steady pace set for himself. Having made his way up from being an assistant director to facing the camera, he’s come a long way.

There are a lot of notions around film the industry due its extremely competitive nature. Ask his thoughts on this and he says, “It depends from person to person. I had really good experiences with most people, they have been really helpful. Some people have gone through sh*t in the industry, for lack of a better word, but I had people like Anurag Kashyap and Anubhav Sinha (filmmakers). Anurag sir would look at me in one small thing and he’d message me saying ‘I would love to work with you’.”

“Also, the person that I am, I don’t like to constantly call people or message them for work. I have never asked directly for work, it’s always been happening. I had a great experience. Ego issues happen in every industry, even between best friends. I don’t think it’s specific to this industry or my field. The bigger the industry, the bigger the people. If you know how to be nice to people, you will be treated nicely,” says the actor, 33, who’ll be seen next in Janhit Mein Jaari alongside actor Nushrratt Bharruccha.

Gulati refuses to call Bollywood a ‘place’, and asserts that contrary to what some may think, it revolves around many more people than just actors and directors. “Spotboys, assistant directors, they work tirelessly. Being an AD is a thankless job. I’m a friendly person who got along with everyone. I idolise Shah Rukh Khan (actor). When he used to go on a set, everyone used to be happy with him, he was the nicest. I try to imbibe that. As long as you are having a good time at work, work doesn’t feel like work,” Gulati signs off.