A Journey of Artistic Exploration from Shimla's Stages to TV Stardom

I come from a family of artists. Late Sudarsan Gaur, my father, used to do amateur theatre in Shimla. He also organised drama competitions through our association, All India Artist Association, Shimla. Through these competitions, I connected to amateur theatre at the early age of six years. So, my childhood was filled with drama, declamation, debate, poetry, etc. And that’s why I was naturally interested in the art field.

But, during those days, having financial stability and making a promising career out of these arts were challenging and uncertain. So, my father suggested I continue studying and engage in art part-time, just like he did. He advised me to take Science after the boards. However, I was weak in Science, so failed in the eleventh class.

Luckily, A.D. Arora, my physics professor, noticed my talent in the art field. So, he told my father to switch me to the art world. He said, ‘Ye kalakaarr hai, ishe scientist nhi baynaye.’ He explained the acting scope at the National School of Drama after graduation. Before that, I was lucky to be selected for a one-month acting workshop by NSD in Shimla. I trained under professional theatre artists like Devendra Raj Ankur, Gyan Shivpuri and J.N. Kaushal through the workshop.

Dev Sir guided me for admission to NSD. And my journey started as a professional theatre artist. I learned a lot in the three-year course and then moved to Mumbai in 1989. But I got sick. I was so ill that I had to return to Delhi. Coming back, I joined The National School of Drama Repertory company and did professional theatre for six years. I met fantastic artists like Himani Shivpri, Seema Biswas, Saurabh Shukla, Mukesh Tiwari, Shrivardhan Trivedi, Vijay Raj, and many more. It was an era of DD1 then. I came back to Mumbai again in 1997.

By that time, the satellite channels were popular. The television industry was booming. And the film industry was all about a hero, a heroine and a villain. Character-driven roles were alien then. So, I also aspired to make my career in the television industry, and it materialised well."

I played a serious role in ‘Mujhe Chand Chaiye’, based on Surendra Verma's novel, and immensely enjoyed it. Gradually, I started getting the satirical roles in the TV serials. In 2012, Lapataganj came and became a superhit in quick time. The serial has awarded me almost every accolade in the TV industry.

Next, I got ‘Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai! And this serial also showered me with equal love. In fact, the comedy-drama has performed way better than anyone expected. But the other side of this blockbuster role is people, and the industry is typecasting me as a comic actor, which I don’t want to. As an actor, I want to show my versatility to the audience. In the past, I have done serious roles in films as well. Some of these are ‘Dhoop’ by Ashwani Chaudhary, ‘Matrubhoomi’ by Manish Jha and ‘Veer Sawarkar’ by Ved Rahi. And, to break the barrier, I’m open to taking on different roles.

‘Hami’, my recent short film, is also an outcome of exploring a different role. When I read the script, it gave me the vibe I was looking for. The incredible film is about how a teacher's ideology changes when he experiences something unusual among his class kids. “Mujhe ‘Hami’ ki story bohot ache lagi tabhi maine ‘Hami’ me abhinay karne ki ‘Hami’ bhari.

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