Tanaaz Irani's husband Bakhtiyar will play this role in Zabaan Sambhalke reboot

In 1993 when actor Tanaaz Irani made her television debut as the big haired Jennifer Jones in Zabaan Sambhalke her husband Bakhtiyar was a student of Std 8 The show inspired by British comedy Mind Your Language was about a harried Hindi teacher portrayed by Pankaj Kapur a hapless bunch of students and their attempts at navigating the mazes of the Hindi languageWhile watching the show I hadnt in my wildest thoughts imagined that I would go on to marry one of the students says Irani when we meet the couple at a suburban mall We have intercepted their Pateti shopping plans but the duo is more than happy to talk about the show that is so special to themBack to the classroomThe popular Doordarshan sitcom which ran from 1993 to 1998 is now set for a reboot as a webseries Directed by its original maker Rajiv Mehra it will see a fresh cast with Sumeet Raghavan essaying Kapoors role and the students will be played by Irani Ashwin Mushran Rupali Bhosle and Meenakshi Chand I had auditioned for two characters one was a Dubai Sheikh and the other a Parsi Having lived in the Middle East for several years I could mimic their mannerisms well he says But as fate would have it Irani will play a quirky character from his own community But unlike me hes a bit too flirtatious almost a lech he says In television you are forced to tone it down Here you can say things as is Expect a lot naughtiness double entendre and gaalis he says For the role Irani had to shave off the facial fuzz and take off the multiple ear piercings I had to look chikna It feels weirdly naked to be without a beard he saysEarlier this year his wife Tanaaz received a call from director Mehra informing her about the show I was confident that he wanted to cast me once again But when he said he wanted Bakhtiyar and not me I did a double take I almost begged him to take me back laughs Tanaaz Back then she was a young 22yearold theatre actor from South Mumbai with little ambition of making a foray into television or films It was through producer Vivek Vaswani also her coactor in the show that she bagged the role He had seen me in the play Bottoms Up and thought I would fit in well with the character of an Anglicised girl struggling with Hindi And I did because I didnt have to try hard to be bad at Hindi I was that bad she laughsDeveloping friendshipsTanaaz who was familiar with most of the actors of Zabaan Sambhalke courtesy her theatre stint believes it was their easy offscreen equation that worked onscreen We would all get food from home ndash Id get mutton biryani ndash and then sit together and eat she recalls Bakhtiyar however is still breaking ice with his coactors During the original series there were no cellphones or social media Nowadays once the shoot is done people go back to their phones You dont talk as much he saysBut once the camera rolls on the atmosphere is akin to a classroom under Mehras watchful eyes While there is discipline there are also jokes to lighten the moments I remember they would keep putting pencils in my hair and I would never know Also nobody wanted to sit behind me because my huge mop would overshadow them she says Kapur she recalls was like a teacher He was strict and he commanded respect I was made to stand outside the class for real many times for my pranks she laughsThree of the original cast members are no more including Tom Alter When we were told that they are pulling the plug on the show I cried and so did Kapur We had become family she says Tanaaz is yet to see the rushes of the new show I cant wait to watch Its like life has come a full circleCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates