Kabhi cop, kabhi gangster: Manuj Sharma on juggling roles between Vikram Vedha and Guns & Gulaabs

A still from the series

Manuj Sharma was deep into filming Vikram Vedha (2022) when he was zeroed in for a part in Guns & Gulaabs. Juggling two extensive shooting schedules, one in Lucknow and the other in Dehradun, was a management nightmare, but the actor's desire to work with creator duo Raj-DK made him go the extra mile. "I am a huge Raj-DK fan. 99 [2009] is one of my all-time favourite movies, and I watch it on repeat to date. When Guns & Gulaabs came to me, I was afraid I would miss out on the show because of Vikram Vedha's schedule. But I did everything I could do to fit in the series. Thankfully, both teams cooperated," says Sharma.

For the actor, it was fascinating to shoot for two projects that had him playing contrasting characters - a cop in Vikram Vedha, and a gangster in the Netflix series. "The only common thing on both the sets was that there were shots fired," he laughs.

The actor plays Bunty, friend and partner-in-crime to Rajkummar Rao's Paana Tipu in the show. He describes Rao as the best co-star he has ever had. "He'd work with other actors on their scenes, hold conversations about the craft and how to improve a scene, but never about his character or anyone else's. He would back my improvisations."