Everyone in the glamour industry has an interesting story of their making. Starting from a production assistant of the show Mere Apne to making his acting debut with Behnein and wooing the hearts of the audiences by essaying the character of Premji in the latest show Balika Vadhu 2, it has been quite an eventful journey for Sunny Pancholi on Hindi TV.
In between, he also had an interesting stint in the Gujarati entertainment industry (with the TV show Saavaj-Ek Prem Garjana and as actor-writer-director of the film IMA Gujju). Sunny, the winner of Ahmedabad Times Most Desirable Man on TV for 2019, is super elated with the response he has received for his latest show. As reported by BT, here are a few excerpts from a quick chat:
‘Balika Vadhu 2 feels like homecoming’
Sunny started his career with Hindi TV shows and then moved to doing Gujarati TV and a Gujarati film. He says, “I wanted to contribute to the regional entertainment industry. Now, I am back to doing Hindi TV again with Balika Vadhu 2. I always appreciated the show’s treatment during season one and I am glad that season two is no different. It feels good because I had worked with Ketki Dave ji and Mehul Buch in my previous projects.”
‘I am enjoying the graph of my character’
The actor feels that the character of Premji is very close to how someone is in real life, which makes the audiences connect with it. He says, “While he is impulsive and aggressive, he is caring too and loves his family. The character is a mix of various shades and it was challenging for me because I haven’t essayed a character like this before. The tougher part was to deliver the dialogues in Gujarati accent, which I don’t have. But it is a good learning experience and I am enjoying this character’s graph.”
‘We shot for two months in Jodhpur, feels good to be back to Mumbai’
While the shooting restrictions in Mumbai had forced the show’s makers to shoot in Jodhpur, Sunny says that they are glad to be back now. He shares, “The pandemic had made it tough to resume work. We had to shoot for two months in Jodhpur in a bio-bubble due to the shooting restrictions imposed by the Maharashtra government. But now, we are back in Mumbai and all of us maintain social distancing, use masks, and sanitizers to stay safe. Even though it is risky even now as the fight against COVID-19 is on, the show must go on.”
‘We never miss a chance to do garba on the sets’
With Navratri just getting over, we asked the actor if he missed playing Garba this time. Sunny says, “I never felt that I missed out on celebrating Navratri this year because, on the sets, we celebrate a cast member’s birthday or anniversary by doing garba. It is great fun to be around such a positive team.”
‘I will start the production of my next directorial project in January 2022’
After IMA Gujju, Sunny is now ready to direct his second Gujarati film. Sharing details about it, he says, “During the lockdown last year, I invested my time to pen the script of my second Gujarati film. I hope the film goes on floors in January 2022. Actually, the producers are looking at a good time to start the shoot after observing the footfalls at multiplexes and theatres. Amid the pandemic, it has been a difficult time for filmmakers. So, we are hoping that things will improve next year.”