Anant Joshi reveals how Gullak changed his family’s perspective on everyday arguments

Anant Joshi (Picture via Instagram)

Anant Joshi won over audiences with his performance as Anand Mishra (Annu) in Gullak after stepping into the role previously played by Vaibhav Raj Gupta. While replacing an actor in a beloved series came with its share of pressure, Joshi says the experience ultimately became one of the most rewarding moments of his career. The actor also revealed how the show changed the way his own family viewed their everyday arguments and relationships. Here's what Anant shared while exclusively speaking to mid-day.

Pressure of replacing a much loved character

Speaking about the pressure of taking over a much-loved character, Joshi said, "I think pressure was there, of course, especially when the teaser dropped and, you know, audience started kind of pouring the response, how they feel about the change. And I think that's when the pressure actually built up for me."

He recalled that everything had been enjoyable before the teaser was released. "Before that, everything was, I was super happy to be part of this team and, you know, we had a fun shoot," he said. However, the audience's strong attachment to the character made him realise the magnitude of the responsibility. "I felt, oh, wow, like this character is far more special for the audience than I was thinking, actually."

Joshi admitted that replacing an actor was a completely new experience for him. "I've never replaced an actor before. So that feeling was absolutely new. So I did get, you know, a little bit of pressure," he said. At one point, the constant scrutiny began affecting his enjoyment of the process. "I was like, oh, wow, you know, I didn't like, I don't like this when people are always doubting everything that you're doing."

However, the response changed dramatically once the season premiered. "Once the whole, the entire season was out and suddenly, like, literally, like, I remember the day when the entire season was released and how quickly the responses, 360 changed to, you know, to appreciation," he recalled.

Comparing the experience to the famous Baazigar dialogue, Joshi said, "The one who wins by losing, is called Baazigar. So I literally felt that dialogue for the first time in my life." He added, "For the audience to suddenly accept you, love you, and then now still constantly messages and comments... that's a very special feeling. And I feel very grateful for this to happen."

On how his family's perspective changed

Joshi also believes Gullak's relatability is what makes it special. "I think what's the best part about, like, since we're talking about OTT providing, you know, such spaces, I think it has opened such a wide spectrum of all sorts of writings and series and films."

For him, feel-good shows can connect with audiences differently. "I think it, you know, it hits closer to you or it hits home because there is a sense of relatability that a thriller might not be able to give you."

The actor shared that Gullak even changed how his family looked at their own disagreements. "When we started watching Gullak together, I think we started seeing ourselves very differently," he said. "We started laughing on our arguments after a point because they were so similar to the ones portrayed in Gullak." For Joshi, the show gave his family "a lens of humor to look at all these very trivial problems in your life." He concluded, "Actually, you know, these are all laughable problems."