While Anupamaa helped him become a household name, Gaurav Khanna recently said that he was initially apprehensive to portray Anuj Kapadia. Look at the reasons why!
Anupamaa, starring Rupali Ganguly, Sudhanshu Pandey, and Gaurav Khanna, has been a fan favourite since it premiered in 2020. The show, created by Rajan Shahi and Deepa Shahi, is a family drama centred on Anupamaa, played by Rupali Ganguly, who is a conscientious housewife who prioritises her family’s needs above all else.
Apart from Anupamaa, the character of Anuj Kapadia, played by Gaurav Khanna, is adored by the crowd. He entered the show in the middle, but people love his relationship with Anupamaa. Fans may be shocked to learn that the actor was initially hesitant to accept the project.
Gaurav Khanna is doubtful about doing Anupamaa.
In a recent interview with News18, Gaurav Khanna said that he had second thoughts about playing Anuj Kapadia because he didn’t think he could do the character justice.
“My first thinking was if I would be able to achieve this,” he stated of his immediate reaction. Anuj in the musical is a specific age and stage of life, and I was wondering if I could do justice to such a character.
Secondly, because I don’t have children in real life, it could be tough for me to play Anuj’s love interest, who has children aged 20-22.”
But, producer Rajan Shah encouraged him to attend the look test. No worries, come for the test, Gaurav said. We shall see what happens’. So I was overjoyed when he told me I’d been chosen.”
“I suppose it’s like the steroid injection,” Gaurav Khanna told News18. Everybody liked my characters up till now, but then there’s a show like Anupamaa, a character like Anuj Kapadia, and suddenly you’re there points towards the sky.
When people tell me, ‘you are a terrific actor, you are such a natural actor,’ I feel extremely humbled. When I chat to my friends or my parents, I constantly tell them that nobody receives anything by chance or ahead of time. Perhaps this is my moment.”
Anupamaa Has Changed The Industry’s Perception Of Me.
“I believe the industry’s view is changing. It was frequently stated to me that only a specific sort of performer performs on television. Yet my one character was usually significantly different from the last one I played.
I was also doing a show called ‘Chandrakanta’ before Anupamaa. You’d never recognise me on that show. It was a fantasy figure with long hair, armour, and the appearance of a savage warrior.
After that episode, I was cast in a part similar to Anuj Kapadia, who is gentle, sober, suave, a businessman, and well-educated. “I like it,” Gaurav Khanna added.
Anuj Kapadia is the elder brother of Gaurav Khanna. Gaurav realised he needed to improve on himself after being chosen to do justice to the character. Gaurav claimed that he quit working out in order to fit into the role. “For this role, I gained weight so that I could fit into the shoes of a character over 40,” he said. “I chose to stop working out since I used to work out a lot and was in great form before the show. Instead, I put on at least 4-5 kg. This is something that not many people do on television.” He also stated that he began wearing spectacles on the advise of his mother.