- Gaurav Gera received praise for his role as Aalam Bhai in Dhurandhar alongside Ranveer Singh
- Mona Singh, Gaurav Gera's friend and former co-star, expressed pride in his recognition for Dhurandhar
- Gaurav Gera initially went unrecognised due to his drastic makeover for Dhurandhar role
Actor Mona Singh is a proud friend today. She is happy for her friend and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin co-star Gaurav Gera who continues to receive praise for his role in Dhurandhar, fronted by Ranveer Singh.
In Dhurandhar, Gaurav Gera featured as Aalam Bhai, the Lyari-based handler of Indian intelligence agent Jaskirat Singh Rangi aka Hamza Ali Mazari who goes deep undercover to uproot the terrorist network in Pakistan's Karachi. At his popular juice shop in the gang-infested Lyari, Aalam Bhai also sells Doodh Soda for Rs 20 in the most musical manner.
Like many fans, Mona Singh also watched Dhurandhar in a cinema hall and is overjoyed that her friend is being recognised for his work in the Aditya Dhar directorial.
"I am such a proud friend. He finally is getting his due. He was out and away for a while and not seen on any platform, movies or TV. The world is celebrating the movie. The world is celebrating Gaurav. I feel very proud. I have seen the movie, and I loved it," Mona Singh told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
The actor, who played the titular Jassi in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin in which Gaurav Gera featured as Nandu, said she can't wait to watch Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge in theatres on March 19.
"The fact that it's still being celebrated now on OTT as well, in spite of earning more than Rs 1,000 crore just speaks volumes," she added.
Like almost all key things in Dhurandhar, even the casting of Gaurav Gera as Aalam Bhai came as a surprise to viewers. For the longest time, people were left guessing about the actor who featured as Aalam Bhai, the juice shopkeeper who likes drinking noon chai as it reminds him of his village, which was perhaps somewhere in India.
As Dhurandhar's popularity grew by word of mouth, people started putting two and two together. Many realised Aalam Bhai was in fact Gaurav Gera when they recognised his voice. Mona Singh too, she said, was mindblown by his 'makeover'.
"It was a shock for all of us. He shot (the film) for almost two years and had to maintain the continuity of his look. Actors should be like chameleons and that's exactly what he did. Nobody recognised him."
She told Gaurav Gera to start posting pictures on social media so that people get to know that he is Dhurandhar's Aalam Bhai.
"After the movie came out, I was the one telling him, 'Go on Instagram and post your pictures, because nobody is able to recognise who you are. Just do it right away'. And then he started posting," she added.
Once audiences found out it was him, they were happy and in complete awe of Gaurav Gera, who also has a massive fan following on social media thanks to his Shopkeeper-Chhutki skit series.
"People were like, 'Oh my god! This can't be you, is it you? Ye kya ho gaya hamari Chhutki ko?' (What happened to our Chhutki?) People were just celebrating him. I feel happy and proud that actors are finally getting their due because of such movies and such content on OTT and the big screen," Mona Singh said.
Mona Singh was last seen in Kohrra 2, the critically-acclaimed series streaming on Netflix.
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