'I don't have much television work now'

'If I get something nice on TV, I will certainly do it. You will see me soon on an OTT show.'

“I have been doing comedy for a long time. I have got appreciation and acknowledgement as a funny actor. But it’s thanks to the team of Bharat that I got a full-fledged movie role,” Sunil Grover tells Patcy N/ Rediff.com, quite modestly.

“I have a strong image in comedy and wondered if people would accept (me in Bharat). I was very skeptical before doing the film. I was crying, not laughing (in the film). That’s why I had this fear,” he adds.

Well, whatever the fate of the Salman Khan starrer might have been at the box office, it will enjoy a Zee Cinema premiere on October 20.

“I really liked working with Salman. He is a huge star and yet, he gave me space to do my own thing. We had a good time during the six-month shoot; we were travelling all over the world.”

“I worked out with him sometimes. He would correct my postures,” he adds.

Sunil Grover has had a successful career since 1995, and he looks back at the milestones:

When Sunil was in Standard 8, he took part in solo acting competition. The audience liked his act so much that they laughed nonstop.

“I got carried away. My time was six minutes but I performed for nine. Naturally, I was disqualified, but they gave me a special prize. That boosted my confidence,” he looks back.

He went on to do a show for a corporate company and people loved it. That’s when he realised his work was appreciated by everyone, not just students.

Sunil started his career with Jaspal Bhatti's Full Tension while he was still in college.

It was Bhatti, who introduced Sunil to television.

“I performed with him on live shows too,” Sunil says. 

Sunil did a Masters degree in Drama, which taught him a lot of things about the craft. He learnt about world theatre as well.

After that, he started doing plays.

He got to play the title role of Hamlet in his first ‘intense’ work before he discovered comedy.

When Sunil came to Mumbai, he started with voice-overs.

He did a television show called Chala Lallan Hero Banane, which got him recognition.

But the show that made him famous was Comedy Nights with Kapil.

His character Guthi, a sari-clad lady, became a rage.

But that’s not the first time he had worn a sari.

“I wore it for the first time on the Star Plus show, Hass Baliye,” he informs.

“Wearing a sari on a show was not awkward for me. I had done it before in school and college. For me, it wasn’t a woman, it was a character,” he says. 

Sunil has seen his share of failures as well.

“At the beginning of my career, I was part of a television show. After two days of shooting, I was replaced. That made me doubt myself. Thankfully, that phase went away,” he recalls.

What’s the worst criticism he has received?

“I wouldn’t call it the worst but people do say things like, ‘Kab tak ladki banke ghumte rahoge tum? Thoda kaam karo!'"

These are taunts from outsiders but he says his family is very supportive.

“They are chilled out,” he says.

“I don’t have much television work now. If I get something nice on TV, I will certainly do it. You will see me soon on an OTT show,” he concludes.