'Backlash Really Affected Me': Anant Joshi To NDTV On Replacing Vaibhav Raj Gupta In Gullak 5

Anant Joshi, who stepped into the role of Anu Bhaiya in the fifth season of Gullak after Vaibhav Raj Gupta played the character for four seasons, has opened up about taking on the much-loved role. 

In an exclusive interview with NDTV's Hardika Gupta, the actor spoke about the pressure of replacing Vaibhav, the audience's initial reaction to the casting change, his bond with co-star Helly Shah and working with her in Gullak and Chumbak. 

He also opened up about the changing opportunities for character actors in the OTT space and why shows like Paatal Lok and Mirzapur have changed the way audiences look at actors.

'There Was A Bit Of Nervousness'

Given the show's established fan base and the love for Vaibhav's portrayal, Joshi admitted that there was some nervousness about how the audience would respond to the change.

"More than pressure, it was nervousness. There was a bit of pressure because there were doubts. After all, Vaibhav did it so well. The show is so loved. It has such a massive fan base, which I only realised after Season 5 came out," he said.

Joshi revealed that his family was also a fan of Gullak and Vaibhav's portrayal of Anu Bhaiya. However, he knew he could not approach the character by simply imitating what had already been done.

"My family is a big fan of the show and what Vaibhav brought to Anu Bhaiya's character. But when it came to me, I knew that if the expectation was for me to imitate what Vaibhav did, that wouldn't be possible and that wouldn't be exciting for me," he said.

Instead, the actor wanted to bring his own experiences to the character. "But I was very excited to bring my own lived experiences to the character. So, yeah, I was excited to play the character. But there was a little bit of nervousness about how the audience was going to respond."

That nervousness intensified when the trailer was released. Joshi admitted that the initial audience response made him question whether he had made the right decision by taking on the role.

'There Was Backlash'

"When the trailer came out, there was backlash. It really affected me. It made me question my choice. Did I do it right? Because people were absolutely missing their favourite character," he said.

However, the response changed dramatically once the season premiered. Joshi said the love he eventually received was particularly rewarding because he had already prepared himself for the possibility of rejection.

He said, "But when the show came out and the way the reactions completely flipped, that was an even higher high. Because when you are not expecting it at all, you are already prepared that maybe that was not probably a good choice. You have stepped onto a really big show."

He added, "But out of expectation, when that kind of love comes through, I think that was the biggest or the most rewarding feeling."

Joshi also recalled the messages he received from viewers after the season was released. "Most of the messages that were coming to me through Instagram, the comments that were coming, they all started with, 'I want to apologise to you first.'"

"It felt so personal. It felt so assuring, reassuring of the fact that I didn't say anything to anyone. And I think that could be the biggest thing for an actor," he said.

With audiences now accepting him as Anu Bhaiya, Joshi is looking forward to continuing the journey. "And now, just accepting me as if there was no change, I'm really looking forward to enjoying this journey even more."

When asked if Vaibhav Raj Gupta reached out to him after he took over the role, Joshi said, "No, he hasn't."

On Working With Helly Shah In Gullak And Chumbak

Joshi has also shared the screen with Helly Shah in both Gullak and Chumbak, though their characters in the two projects are vastly different. He said working with Shah has also resulted in a close friendship.

"I'm so glad to find a friend in Helly now. I'm a really close friend. I think we just get each other. Somehow, we don't have to talk too much in order to understand or get together," he said.

Joshi explained that moving from Gullak to Chumbak was particularly interesting because of how different their characters were.

"But yes, because I think we finished Gullak and then started shooting for Chumbak, it was such a shock to our systems. We both would just not recognise each other."

He compared their Gullak characters, Anu and Preeti, with their roles in Chumbak. 

He said, "Imagine doing Anu and Preeti in Gullak. They are so sensible. They are so subtle. When they are together, they are so sensible. There is this natural maturity in the relationship."

"But here, I think we both were the most immature characters, if I may say, in the world of Chumbak. So, yeah, we would laugh so often," he added.

Joshi also revealed that the actors will soon return to the world of Gullak with Season 6. 

He said, "And now, to go back to Gullak's set again - we will be coming out with Season 6 very soon. Going back to that set, our system is actually not recognising our characters anymore."

"It feels like parallel universes, honestly. It feels like it's different. That's the fun part of being an actor, I think. You get to live so many lives, and you're like, 'Did we really do that?'"

On Chumbak, Helly Shah And Working With Aatish Kapadia

Joshi also spoke about reuniting with Shah for Chumbak, revealing that he only learned she was part of the project after he had already come on board.

"I think I got to know when I was already on board that Helly was part of it. We were still shooting for Chumbak, so we were like, 'Oh wow, we're going to be doing this other show,' not knowing what exactly we would be getting into."

At the time, the show was still being written, and Joshi was also unsure about how he would approach his character Freddy.

"By that time, it was still being written. But yeah, the characters were there. Also, we didn't know, by that time at least I didn't know, how I was going to play Freddy because I was in a new zone."

The actor also praised director Aatish Kapadia, saying that working with him was something he had wanted to tick off his professional checklist.

"Clearly, nobody writes shows the way Aatish Kapadia does. It's very unique to him. I'm glad that he was part of my checklist of directors because nobody makes comedy like him."

"I can do several other comedies, but it will never be the same. It will never be Aatish Kapadia. Never that type. The height and the craziness of it is insane. It's unthinkable. Who could think of Aatish Kapadia? Only Aatish Kapadia could," he said.

On OTT Creating More Opportunities For Character Actors

Joshi believes the rise of OTT has fundamentally changed the opportunities available to actors, particularly those who may not traditionally have been considered leading stars.

Asked if OTT has allowed character actors to build an identity beyond being supporting actors, he said, "100%. I think it has changed the way we talk about actors now. Otherwise, even people outside the industry would not feel very safe and secure. They would always have these doubts."

"But now I think there's this faith that, you know, if you have talent, if you have that skill set, and you are trained and experienced, you will get somewhere. That faith, because OTT has given so many opportunities, has created those many jobs," he added.

According to Joshi, the impact of OTT extends beyond actors to writers and storytellers as well.

"So, definitely, it has changed the whole ecosystem for the better, I would say. Because we see all sorts of stories. For story writers too, not only actors, see the kind of stories that we get to see. We all crave something new, something new."

He pointed to Jaideep Ahlawat's Paatal Lok character Hathiram Chaudhary as an example of an actor becoming a major star through a character-driven OTT show.

He shared, "For actors, it's so great. For example, Jaideep Ahlawat shining through Hathiram - he's a massive star now. Absolutely. The breakthrough was Paatal Lok. And there was no definition of hero or lead."

Joshi also cited Mirzapur as an example of OTT creating stars and eventually taking a successful franchise to the big screen.

He added, "And for Mirzapur now to become an OTT show that turned into such a successful theatrical film, and then you see that there are no big stars, so to say. The stars were made by Mirzapur on OTT."

Calling it an interesting phase for the industry, the actor concluded, "It is such an interesting phase, and there's a little more security than what it was earlier for actors. There are more hopes for sure. One can really hope that these actors would be given more varied, diverse characters."