'Will be interesting to return to Pyaar Ka Punchnama franchise'

Divyendu Sharma

Divyendu Sharma did not want to limit himself as a comic actor post his debut in "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" but believes now would be a fun time to revisit the franchise. Divyendu, who became famous for playing Liquid in Luv Ranjan's buddy-comedy, said he decided for a genre change being fully aware of the popularity of the series. The actor did not return in the follow-up to the 2011 film as he feels he had nothing new to offer to the character.

"I didn't want to do comedy back to back. I thought I would be slotted in the genre and hence I decided to take a break, explore other stuff. I had given my all to Liquid. I was aware I am saying 'no' to a hit franchise. "It was a hard choice to make but I knew I had to branch out. If I come back to that character today, I know it will be very interesting. Since I have explored the other side and shown people, they won't say 'I only do this.' If Liquid comes back to me, I will take it," Divyendu told PTI.

The sequel had Kartik Aaryan, Sonnalli Seygall, Ishita Raj Sharma and Nushrat Bharucha, who were part of the first film. The actor said his decision to take up different roles stemmed from the fact that he did not want to play safe. "When your first two films (other being 'Chashme Baddoor') are hit comedies, people like to see you more in that genre. They come up with big films, big money, which might be a safe choice to pick. But I didn't come here to do that. I want to play different characters.

"It becomes difficult to say 'no' and sometimes people take it to their ego. It takes a lot of guts to say 'no' to films which you know would become hit but I'm not afraid." Divyendu will be next seen in "Batti Gul Meter Chalu", his second collaboration with director Shree Narayan Singh after "Toilet: Ek Prem Katha". Also featuring Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, the film is scheduled to release this Friday.

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