EXCLUSIVE! Sunil Grover On Sunflower's Unusual Narrative, His Non-Comic Characters & What Success Means To Him
Sunil Grover has impressed many with performances in projects like Pataakha, Bharat, Tandav and more. In an exclusive interview with Filmibeat, he opened up about what the current fame and success means to him.
Sunil
Grover
has
become
a
household
name,
thanks
to
his
iconic
comic
characters
like
Gutthi,
Dr
Mashoor
Gulati
and
Rinku
Devi
on
The
Kapil
Sharma
Show.
However,
in
recent
years,
he
has
impressed
many
with
performances
in
projects
like
Pataakha,
Bharat,
Tandav
and
more.
In
an
exclusive
interview
with
Filmibeat,
Sunil
Grover
opened
up
about
what
the
current
fame
and
success
means
to
him.
Sunil
also
opened
up
about
his
recent
ZEE5
release
Sunflower.
The
actor
in
the
show
can
be
seen
playing
someone
who
is
caught
in
the
middle
of
a
murder
investigation.
Sunil
brilliantly
plays
a
socially
awkward
man
who
is
also
a
moral
citizen.
Talking
about
how
he
chooses
such
complex
roles,
Sunil
credited
the
directors
for
believing
in
him.
"What
I
can
do
is
only
up
to
be,
but
the
makers
have
to
believe
in
my
craft,"
he
told
Filmibeat.
Here
are
excerpts
from
the
interview,
1.
How
has
the
response
been
to
your
recent
OTT
release
Sunflower?
The
intention
has
been
to
entertain
people,
and
people
have
been
appreciating
the
show
and
all
the
hard
work
that
has
been
put
in
by
everyone.
2.
After
watching
your
character
Sonu
Singh,
I
didn't
know
whether
to
feel
sorry
for
Sonu,
laugh
at
him,
or
with
him.
It
must
have
been
a
hard
character
to
portray?
When
I
first
read
it,
it
was
entertaining
but
when
I
actually
started
preparing
for
it,
I
thought
there
are
three-four
major
emotions
and
it
should
look
like
one
person.
I
had
to
pay
attention,
think
and
figure
out
a
way
to
make
it
look
like
every
emotion
belonged
to
Sonu.
3.
How
would
you
describe
the
Sunflower
society
and
your
quirky
co-actors
Ranvir
Shorey,
Mukul
Chadda,
Girish
Kulkarni?
It
was
a
very
nice
ensemble,
there
were
so
many
artists
of
great
calibre
on
the
set
and
we
all
had
a
great
time.
And
when
you
have
a
cast
like
this,
things
work
smoothly.
Everyone
gives
their
best
to
the
show
and
it
also
makes
you
do
your
best.
It
was
a
great
experience
working
with
everyone.
4.
One
of
the
genres
of
the
show
has
been
revealed
as
a
thriller
while
another
is
comedy.
Apart
from
the
main
plot,
the
show
also
offers
a
social
commentary
on
many
issues.
Does
Sunflower
fall
into
the
dark
comedy
category
or
would
you
call
it
a
mix
of
everything?
It's
a
mix
of
everything
but
at
the
same
time,
the
intention
is
to
keep
the
thrill
going.
It's
the
kind
of
narrative
that
I
haven't
seen
before.
This
is
a
very
fresh
narrative,
how
the
story
is
being
told,
where
it
is
going
and
how
it
is
coming
back.
There
are
so
many
aspects
that
will
give
the
audience
a
fresh
feeling
because
of
the
different
storytelling.
There
are
also
things
that
we
want
the
audience
to
introspect
on,
the
show
is
just
a
mirror
to
society.
Then
if
you
want
to
change
anything
about
it
that's
up
to
you.
5.
Many
characters
in
the
show
focus
on
personal
vendettas
while
there
is
a
tragedy
unfolding
before
them,
which
feels
very
close
to
reality.
However,
the
pandemic
has
shown
us
the
positive
side
of
the
world,
where
people
have
bent
over
backwards
to
help
others.
Does
Sunflower
resonate
differently
with
you
because
of
this
pandemic
that
we
all
are
experiencing
together?
There
has
been
nothing
good
about
the
pandemic.
There
has
been
so
much
loss
and
death,
families
and
people
are
suffering.
I
can't
compare
it
to
something
fictional.
But
yes
the
darkness
sometimes
is
just
the
nature
of
the
show.
There
is
humour
too,
but
the
good
part
about
the
show
is
that
it
makes
us
want
to
think
about
the
way
we
look
at
things
and
if
we
need
to
rethink
things.
That's
what
it
is
about.
If
you
look
at
the
society's
plot,
while
Mr
Iyer
(Ashish
Vidyarthi)
and
other
committee
members
are
rejecting
applicants,
the
existing
chairperson
disagrees
with
what
others
are
saying.
Parallel
perspectives
are
being
shown
but
the
bad
side
has
overtaken
the
good
is
what
we
are
trying
to
show
in
Sunflower.
6.
Recently
during
an
interaction
with
Mukul
Chadda,
I
found
out
that
despite
the
show's
serious
storyline
of
a
murder
investigation,
the
atmosphere
on
the
set
was
very
comic.
Could
you
share
a
behind
the
scene
moment
with
us?
It
was
great.
We
laughed
a
lot
while
shooting
for
the
show
and
I
always
looked
forward
to
returning
to
the
set.
Each
time
I
went
there
people
were
laughing
and
cracking
jokes.
There
is
this
scene
where
I
am
roaming
around
in
underwear
outside
the
house.
I
was
just
trying
to
be
comfortable
and
make
everyone
comfortable
while
wearing
boxers
and
moving
around.
We
were
shooting
for
a
scene
where
someone
was
supposed
to
walk
through
a
door
when
everyone
was
waiting
inside.
When
I
heard
the
sound
action,
I
walked
in
wearing
the
shorts
and
everyone
was
laughing
because
no
one
expected
me
to
walk
in
half-naked.
There
were
many
moments
and
everyone
in
the
cast,
Vikas
and
Rahul
all
had
a
great
sense
of
humour.
Each
time
I
was
on
set,
it
was
a
riot.
7.
The
story
isn't
over
yet,
what
is
in
store
for
Sonu
in
Sunflower
season
2?
I
hope
interesting
things
happen
to
Sonu.
I
am
also
waiting
to
find
out,
I
think
Mr
Vikas
Bahl
will
be
sharing
news
about
what's
next.
8.
Your
name
has
been
synonymous
with
comic
characters
for
years.
But
with
each
comic
character,
there
have
been
layers
whether
it
is
Dipper
from
Pataakha,
Vilayti
Khan
from
Bharat
and
Sonu
Singh
from
Sunflower.
It
is
a
conscious
decision
to
chose
these
complex
comic
roles?
Are
you
hoping
to
leave
behind
the
comedian
image?
Comedy,
making
people
laugh
is
a
very
difficult
art.
I
have
been
lucky
that
I
have
been
offered
different
kind
of
roles
that
have
more
layers.
It
could
be
completely
dark
or
the
opposite
of
comic
roles.
In
the
end,
it
depends
on
what
comes
my
way
and
I
can
only
choose
from
what
has
been
offered
to
me.
I
only
pick
characters
that
excite
me
and
give
me
enough
motivation
to
play
them.
I
can
only
give
my
best
when
I
believe
in
it.
But
I
think
I
have
been
lucky
that
such
projects
and
roles
are
being
offered
and
I
am
enjoying
them.
9.
We
have
also
had
a
chance
to
watch
you
in
a
serious
role
in
Tandav.
Every
time
Gurpal
Chauhan
showed
up
on
the
screen,
I
was
waiting
for
some
comic
relief.
But
with
that
role
you
also
managed
to
instil
fear
among
the
audience.
How
do
you
manage
to
shift
between
such
vast
genres
and
roles?
and
what
kind
of
roles
are
you
looking
forward
to
experimenting
with
next?
Credit
goes
to
the
makers,
Ali
Abbas
Zafar
(Bharat),
Vishal
Bhardwaj
(Pataakha),
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
(Gabbar
Is
Back),
they
believed
that
I
could
play
these
roles
despite
my
comedy
background.
What
I
can
do
is
only
up
to
be,
but
the
makers
have
to
believe
in
my
craft.
As
for
my
future
roles,
I
am
hoping
to
enjoy
myself
and
experiment
a
bit
with
different
roles.
I
will
choose
best
from
what's
offered
to
me
and
continue
entertaining
the
audience.
10.
Since
your
debut
in
the
late
90s,
you
have
now
become
a
household
name
not
only
as
a
comedian
but
also
as
an
actor
with
an
unmatchable
range,
who
has
worked
in
television,
feature
films
and
OTT.
How
do
you
perceive
this
success
and
fame?
I
feel
lucky
that
I
got
to
experience
so
many
mediums.
Earlier,
I
would
feel
down
sometimes
that
why
things
are
not
working
out.
But
then
I
would
try
again,
and
I
think
all
of
us
do
that
every
day.
I
do
think
you
have
to
be
lucky
for
things
to
move
in
your
favour.
You
have
to
hang
on
to
your
dream
because
things
will
work
out
one
way
or
another.
Still,
in
the
end,
it
is
about
the
experience.
People
look
back
at
their
achievement
but
I
think
it
is
also
important
to
see
what
makes
you
a
better
person.
It
will
show
how
much
you
love
the
work
you
have
done
because,
despite
everything,
you
have
held
on
to
it.
11.
What
other
projects
are
you
currently
working
on
and
what
can
fans
expect
from
you
in
the
coming
year?
I
am
working
on
a
film
and
will
share
details
about
it
very
soon.