In Lucknow recently, actor
Aasif Sheikh
better known as
Vibhuti
Narayan Mishra from
Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain
! made the most of his visit to the city. "I usually do not eat a full meal but when I came to Lucknow and went to eat the famous delicacies at a local restaurant, after a long time I ate pett bhar ke," shared the actor, adding, "I have been to Lucknow so many times.
I came here when my first film,
Rama O Rama
was released in 1989. Lucknow has a lot of heritage value. Also, I have shared a special bond with UP as both my parents are from Banaras. And since my father was a Kaamil in Urdu, which is a degree in the language, my tallafuz (diction) in Urdu is so clear to date. He always stressed on the 'aap' while addressing each other at home. We, as children, were not allowed to go casual in our language despite living in Delhi, which helped me a lot later in life, especially in my profession."
Aasif played a traffic cop from Lucknow in one of the episodes of Bhabhiji...Here he poses for us in character on his visit to the city
Aasif played a traffic cop from Lucknow in one of the episodes of Bhabhiji...Here he poses for us in character on his visit to the city
'I have been updating my comedy'
Starting as a villain in the industry, Aasif is now tagged as a comedian because of his long association with the show Bhabhi Ji... "I do not want to break the mold of a comedian that I am tagged as now. I enjoy comedy and it is my comfort zone. As a break from comedy, I do serious roles now and then in
theatre
. I am not desperate to do a non-comic role as I have got a lot of variation in Bhabhiji. I have played more than 350 characters on that show. I have been updating my comedy also over the years and do not let the fatigue come into my work. Today for an actor, the fight is to stay relevant," he says.
'I would like to take a break once Bhabhi Ji ends'
Being part of the show Bhabhi Ji for almost a decade now, Aasif has a lot of plans in store when the show ends. "I would like to take a break once Bhabhi Ji ends, at least for six months. I would like to do new plays which I have been wanting to do for a long time. I believe theatre gives you a lot of confidence as an actor, a lot of poise, good body language, and an outlook as it is a live medium," he says.
When I used to do cinema, I always complained that I was not getting good roles. My main reason for doing television was to get that due respect for my work. Whatever I have right now is because of the medium. I did cinema for about seven years, but I earned the respect on TV. I was quite
frustrated
when I was doing
films
and when I was out of work for sometime.
-- Reason for a shift from cinema to TV
English (US) ·