The slice of life drama, Gullak, streaming on SonyLIV, is adored for its simplicity and relatability. The Mishra ‘parivaar’ — mummy Shanti (Geetanjali Kulkarni), papa Santosh (Jameel Khan), ‘bada beta’ Annu (Vaibhav Raj Gupta) and ‘chota beta’ Aman (Harsh Mayar)maintain a mirror to the life of each middle-class family. But so simple as the present appears on the display, creating it isn’t that easy. Actor Gitanjali Kulkarni asserts, “Simple things are not simple.” Creating Gullak is a strenuous job as she says, “We rehearse a lot before going on the floor. It involves the hard work of a lot of people including the creators for almost over a year.”
Vaibhav Raj Gupta aka Anu Mishra provides, “The relationship that you see on-screen between the Mishras is built over workshops. All of us meet and discuss the script with the director, writer and the entire crew. There have been times when we had discussions over a scene for more than one and a half hours.” Jameel Khan calls the making of Gullak a “democratic process” the place creators are open to incorporating recommendations and concepts of the actors as effectively.
Based in a small North Indian city, Gullak is now in its third season, which begins streaming on April 7. After the second season, this heart-warming story of the Mishras has discovered its footing among the many viewers of the OTT platforms and has even received awards. But when the actors began engaged on the present for the primary season in 2018, they didn’t even know if it should ever discover a platform to achieve the viewers.
“When we were shooting for it, we didn’t know if it will find a platform or not,” Geetanjali tells us. She provides, “Budget was limited. We all used to stay in the same house in which we used to shoot. If Sunita (Rajwar) and I had to change clothes, we used to send the boys out. We used to get food in tiffin as there was no table to lay the food on. So, at the time it had an indie show like spirit. I think it is that investment of the first season which is bearing fruits until now.”
Gullak, which takes its viewers near dwelling, was author Nikhil Vijay’s concept, who wrote the primary season. Its journey began at actor Vaibhav’s home. His youthful brother Amrit Raj Gupta directed the primary season. And, the actors shot for it in simply 14-15 days, making them really feel as if they’re doing a theatre play.
Geetanjali Kulkarni performs Shanti Mishra in Gullak 3.
The present, which supplies a lived-in really feel, made actor Harsh Mayar’s mom assume that her son is telling his dwelling’s secret to the writers of the present. “There are some instances in the show where my mother feels, ‘tu ghar ki baatein jaa kar writers ko bata raha hai’. So I had to assure her that what happens in our family, happens in many Indian families. I tell everyone, 90 per cent of India is Gullak, rest is urban,” Harsh shares.
As Harsh narrates this anecdote, Jameel Khan will get a bit emotional and says, “This is why we love doing Gullak. It is so relatable. You have seen so much in life. There are many experiences lived and cherished. So, bringing those experiences to the screen is fun. I relate so much to the show that sometimes I wonder if Jameel Khan is Santosh Mishra or is Santosh Mishra Jameel Khan.”
Geetanjali too feels her character of Shanti Mishra has developed her as an individual and her respect for homemakers has grown manifold. For her, Shanti Mishra “represents all homemakers around the world.”
Besides the superb forged, one factor that performs a significant position in Gullak is the home of the Mishras, which witnesses many “naye kisse” unfold. The home during which the present is shot isn’t a set, moderately it’s a home of an aged man in Bhopal, which is remodeled into Santosh Mishra’s home each time the crew has to shoot for it.
Vaibhav Raj Gupta performs Anu Mishra in Gullak 3.
Vaibhav shares, “In reality, that house doesn’t look like how it looks in the show. After the end of season two, I and Harsh went to that house and we saw that house being dismantled into its original form, it was a very emotional moment for us. Vo ghar Gullak ki jaan hai (that house is the soul of Gullak).” Harsh provides that he will get many messages enquiring in regards to the whereabouts of the home, “There’s so much curiosity around that house.”
