Sasural Simar Ka fame actor SSUMEIR PASRICHA talks to MUSBA HASHMI about his return to TV with Tenali Ram
Tell us about your character in Tenali Rama?
I play Sheikh Chilli. This character has not been seen on TV before, so it is interesting to play it. I haven’t started shooting yet, but I have read the script and it is exciting. Sheikh Chilli is a very lazy person and wants everyone to be lazy too. He is influential. Woh dusron ko bhi bolta hai ki chhoro na kaam kyun karna hai kya zaroorat hai, apney aap ho jayega. He influences everyone in the village to become lazy aur gaon mein itna aalas phail jata hai ki raja usko apney mahal bulata hai par vo raja ko bhi aalsi bana dega. That’s where Tenali will come and try to solve all this and remove all the lazyness. Whether he will be successful or not, will be shown in the upcoming episodes.
What are the pointers that you pay attention to when such a role comes up?
I am planning different ways that I can play Sheikh Chilli so that justice can be done to the character. But no matter how many plans you make or what ideas you come up with, once you start shooting everything happens organically. Creativity comes naturally. Once I will reach the sets then I will get to know the details of the character and it will help me to portray it in a better way.
What prompted you to say yes?
After a long time a channel has offered me a role. When a channel calls you, it is big thing and you have to respect it. I am happy that I am getting to work with SAB TV because I have never worked with them before. I do comedy, this is my forte. I am coming back to TV after four years. In between, I was offered a lot small roles but I didn’t want to do them. I found this character interesting and unique so I decided to give it a try. And I am very positive about this.
How did you come up with the idea of Pammi Aunty?
When I left Sasural Simar Ka, I took a break from work. Then one day aesey hi bethe-bethe mere mann mein do-chaar lines aayi aur maine woh Facebook aur Instagram par daal di. People liked them very much. It went on for sometime and I didn’t even realise when did these videos went viral. The rest is history. Now it has been three years since I am playing Pammi Aunty and making videos on YouTube and I have won almost 20 awards worldwide for this till now. Mazak-mazak mein awards bhi jeet liye. (laughs)
From Code Red to Comedy Nights Bachao, how have things changed for you?
Acting is like cooking. Jitna zyada khana aap banayengey utna aap improve karengey. Same goes with acting, the more you work, the more you improve as an actor. When you are working on a project, and if the creative team knows what they want to sab kuch naturally acha hota hai. When I did Code Red, the director was Mohit Hussein and he knew what he wanted and sab kuch waisa hi ubhar kar aaya. The same thing was with Comedy Nights Bachao, maine bahut kuch seekha vahan se. The gist of the things is the more you work, the more you learn and the more you will improve.
How was the experience playing Shailendra Bhardwaj in Sasural Simar Ka?
It was my TV debut. When I went on the sets on day one, I had no idea of the camera or the shooting process because I was from theatre. Now, when I remember those days I laugh at the stupid mistakes I made back then. Once my director told me to do a cheek shot on the camera aur main itna confuse hogaya thha ki cheek matlab kya, kya look doon. I have learn a lot from that serial and I owe my success to the show. It was where I got my training from because I had so many good actors around me like Jayati Bhatia who is with me in Tenali Rama also. The reason that I am still surviving in the industry, jahan bahut log aake chaley jatey hain, is because my base is strong.
Did you always want to be an actor?
No. I never thought of doing acting. Kabhi kabhi khyaal aata thha par itni himmat nahin thhi. Mujhe lagta thha shayad main acting sey utne paisey nahi kama paaunga ya career nahin hota iss field mein. I come from a business family so it has been taught to us to look out for a secure job. But I started doing small level theatre work, went abroad for my MBA degree. I worked there for 10 years, but felt that something was missing in my life. Main yeh sab nahi karna chahata thha. Mujhe acting hi karni hai, so I came back to India. Then I started doing theatre actively and got offers. I thought let’s see ki sab theek chalta hai ki nahin.
You have been also known for your resemblance with ShahRukh Khan. How was you reaction to it?
I have been getting compliments since I was in school. It is a very big thing for me but sirf looks sey kuch nahin hota, mera talent bhi unkey jesa ho jaye, acting unki jesi kar paun, ya bank balance unkey jesa ho tab kuch baat ho. (laughs)
What is there in the pipeline?
Apart from TV, I am doing different things. I am a part of jury in the panel of a film festival, so I am busy with that. I am also planning to become a producer, so writing scripts for the same. Whether they work out or not, time will tell.