Been there, done that. Gaurav versatile Gera is back at being a lady! He has enough practice of carrying off the pink dress and the high heels but daily soap, Gera admits, is a different ball game. Sangeeta Yadav talks to Mrs Pammi Pyarelal to know more about her (read his) unique presence
She is bold, beautiful and sassy. She is the heartthrob of every man. Her exuberance and uncanny walk cast a thousand spells. The mohalla’s halwaayi and the macho men in the gym, everyone, absolutely everyone, wants to be with Mrs Pammi Pyarelal. But she is no nubile nymphet. In fact, she is fitness expert Param, played by the versatile Gaurav Gera, a ka Nandu of Jassi Jaise Koi Nahi and Bhola of Jhumroo.
“I had been toying with this idea for over a year and was waiting for the right time to bring it on air. We had to put in a lot of research to make the character look real. When we thought of Mrs Pyarelal, I always had Gaurav Gera in mind. Since he had already given his dates to other channels, we decided to wait for him to get free,” Prashant Bhatt, head of fiction, Colors, tells you.
But how did the transformation of Param to Mrs Pammi happenIJ “It is actually about a comedy of error where Param, a boy from Gorakhpur, heads to the glamour city of Mumbai. Circumstances force him to wrap a saree and become the good looking Mrs Pammi. We call it comedy of errors because, as the story unfolds, the love affair of Rahul and Pammi creates a lot of funny situations. Pammi’s encounters with these absurd situations would be an interesting narrative,” Bhatt reveals.
Cross dressing and comic situations are not new to silver screen. With movies like Chachi 420 and reality shows like Comedy Circus, cross dressing become the USP of comedy shows. According to Bhatt, doing a cross-dressed role is a challenge for every actor, howsoever experienced he may be.
“It is comparatively easier to pull off such a role in movies. Even in stand-up comedy shows, it is not that tough to put up an act for a few minutes. But doing such a role in a daily soap is a different ball game altogether. Hats off to Gera for donning this hat so convincingly,” Bhatt says. However, the 34-year-old man behind the scene says he doesn’t like men cross dressing as women just to poke cheap fun at their expense.
For Gera however, playing Mrs Pyarelal was a cakewalk as he is used to the latka-jhatkas. “I didn’t have to kill myself with research or preparation because I have done something very similar for the Gaurav Gera TV channel on You Tube. When I launched this, there was nothing of this sort happening on TV which was still very much about saas-bahu saga and reality shows. I wanted to experiment with this cross role and it worked wonders. From Chutki to Old Man, the videos became quite a rage,” Gera tells you.
The serial revolves around Mrs Pyarelal but it is her hilarious encounters with her better half which is the crux of the show. “Every man dreams of having a life partner like Pammi. Rahul is a mysterious man who knows how to handle any situation. He is a selfish person who likes to do everything for himself first before thinking about others. Rahul is also a conman. In spite of all this, nobody hates him. Mr and Mrs Pyarelal make for a good pair,” Karan Goddwani who plays Rahul, Pammi’s husband, says.
The show also features Usha Natkarni (daadi), Rinku Ghosh (Mohini), Mazhar (Ranjit), Vindya Tiwari (Gayatri), Dimple Jhangiyani (Minty), Karan Goddwani (Rahul) and veteran comedian Sunil Pal (Noodle Baba). “It’s a different concept which nobody has ever done. It’s first time on TV that a boy is playing a girl’s role and not faking to be ‘she’. Many people would not even come to know that Mrs Pammi is not actually a woman,” Goddwani says.
But, was it difficult to do romantic scenes with Mrs Pyarelal knowing fully well that she is actually heIJ “There is a scene where Pammi and I bump into each other and she ends up falling into my arms. Our eyes meet and we fall in love. When we started off, it was uncomfortable and we used to burst out laughing but, gradually, we settled down. Gaurav and I are best friends and we do a lot of masti off the sets as well,” Godwani tells you.
Gera, who is getting a lot of praises for his uncanny looks, says he gets inspiration from his all-time favourite Hollywood actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. “He also is one who loves to be somebody else and plays many characters. I prefer not to stick to playing just one role. It is fun mixing it up,” Gera says.
He admits that playing a woman comes with a lot of perks. “When I was playing the lead in Tota Weds Maina, main ek corner mein baitha rehta thha aur koi bhi mujhe poochta bhi nahi thha. When the shot would get ready, I would be called. But now, it is different. Everyone gives me respect. They are excited being close to me,” Gera tells you.
Though Gera is happy playing Pammi, he prefers to be the man in real life! “I don’t hate women but I love being a man. I respect women for their endurance power. It takes me two hours to just get ready. I can imagine what women go through daily,” Gera says.
Mrs Pammi Pyarelal, Colors,
Monday 7 pm