After 4 phenomenal seasons, actor Harsh Mayar returned to our screens as the beloved Aman Mishra this year with Gullak season 5. He reunited with co-stars Jameel Khan and Geetanjali Kulkarni, better known as Papa and Mummy Mishra, and was joined by actor Anant Joshi aka the new Anand Mishra, who replaced Vaibhav Raj Gupta on the show. In an exclusive chat with HT City, Harsh opens up about the cast change and if it affected his onscreen chemistry with his reel life big brother.
Harsh shares that rebuilding chemistry with the new Annu bhaiya was not difficult, because he has already worked with Anant in the past. “Anant bhai and I worked together in a film called One Two Cha Cha Chaa. Hum wahan pe thoda sa ek dusre ko jaan gaye the. Jab mujhe pata chala (that Vaibhav is being replaced), kuch actors ke naam aaye the aur usme Anant bhai ka bhi naam tha. Maine hi bola ki agar kisi ko lena hi hai, and this is the final decision, then you can take Anant,” says the actor.
That doesn’t mean Harsh didn’t miss Vaibhav. “Obviously set pe Annu bhaiya dekhne ki kuch aur aadat hai,” says the actor, adding, “But gradually Anant and I made our own moments.” Further talking about the new Annu Bhaiya, Harsh shares, “Anant used to tell me, ‘Main khud Vaibhav ko miss karta hoon. Mujhe lagta hai yaar main kyu hoon yahan pe, main kya kar raha hoon.’”
Lauding Anant for stepping into the shoes of a character previously played by another actor, Harsh calls his co-star brave. “I won’t be able to replace somebody. I won’t do it in my life because I know the consequences, social media pe kaise troll karte hain log. Bohot himmat wala kaam hai kisi itne bade show mein usne apne footprints jamane ki koshish ki. Wo accha hi karega.”
During the interview, we asked Harsh how much of his early life he brings to the show, considering that the actor also hails from a humble background and is from Dakshinpuri, Delhi. “Most of it, and that was the main reason I chose this show. As an actor, I did Hichki (2018) with Yash Raj Films and after that doing Gullak… uske baad sab log bolte the, ‘Yaar tumne Hichki pehle ki thi ki Gullak pehle kiya tha?” Maine kaha maine Hichki pehle ki thi, so everybody was very skeptical that don’t do a show, you will have a small role,” shares Harsh.
He went on to add, “What struck with me were things like, ‘motor band kar do, doodh le aao, bijli ka bill.’ Ye saari cheezein main apne household mein bada hua hoon dekhte hue. Toh maine kaha agar ye show hit kar gaya logon ko aur ye kahin bhi chipak gaya ja kar, toh this is one of the biggest shows of India kyunki hamara Hindustan 80% waisa hi hai. Toh wo ek idea tha iske peeche and obviously meri zindagi ki bahut saari cheezein main isme dalta hoon. Mere parents toh mujhe kai baar khud ye bolte hain phone karke ki, ‘Yaar tune hamari kahani daal di kya isme? Inko kaise pata?’ Matlab mere parents ko bhi dekh kar bahut maza aata hai aur wo relate karte hain bahut jyada show se.”
Here’s hoping we see Harsh back as Aman Mishra with the next season of Gullak soon!