It's Sunil Grover's birthday today. As the actor turns a year older on August 3, 2020, we take a deep dive into his journey in the film industry
Updated On: 2019-08-03 09:02 AM IST
Being born to a Punjabi Hindu family in a small village called Dabwali, Haryana on August 3, 1977, Sunil Grover, has been tickling the audiences' funny bone with his jokes through various Television shows. (All pictures courtesy/Official Instagram account of Sunil Grover and Youtube)
Right from his childhood, Sunil always loved to make people laugh through his antics and his first show as a funnyman started at a village marriage.
Sunil Grover used to pick a character from his family and used to highlight one side of him/her in their family marriages. "People used to laugh at me like anything. That's how I built up the confidence of becoming a funnyman," Sunil Grover said in an interview.
In picture: A still from Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998). Sunil Grover made his Bollywood debut with this Ajay Devgn and Kajol starrer, where he played a brief character of a barber.
Sunil Grover received his master's degree in theatre from Panjab University. During his college days, Sunil was discovered by the late satirist and comedian Jaspal Bhatti.
In picture: A still from the movie The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002). Sunil Grover's second Bollywood movie was again with Ajay Devgn. He played the character of freedom fighter Jaidev Kapoor in the film.
Sunil Grover credits Jaspal Bhatti for teaching him the nuances of comedy. "I learnt how to get the metre right. His comedy was more of satire, in a deadpan way. That was his expression of comedy. Working with him was a great joy. It was a great learning experience. I cherish it even today," said Sunil Grover in a recent interview.
In picture: A still from the movie Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan and Asin as the lead stars. Sunil had a brief yet interesting role in the film.
Very few know that Sunil Grover started his acting career with the screen name Surendra Grover.
Sunil Grover has self-confessed that he was so desperate to get noticed by filmmakers that on the sets of Ajay Devgn's The Legend of Bhagat Singh he would mimic everyone on the sets, including Ajay Devgn and unit members.
In picture: Alia Bhatt, Sunil Grover in his famous character 'Dr. Mashoor Gulati' and Ali Asgar in his famous character 'Dadi'
Soon he started getting work in voiceovers. It was his real struggling period. In his interview with Humans of Bombay he said how when used to get rejected from Television and films, he had a cushion to fall back upon–something.
In picture: Sunil Grover as 'Gutthi' with Kangana Ranaut and Shahid Kapoor.
Around that time, Sunil got offered to do a radio show Hansi Ke Phavare as 'Sud'. It was only going to be aired in Delhi, but when that show went live, it went viral and the makers decided to air it across India. After that, there was no looking back. Soon 'Gutthi' happened and in no time, Sunil Grover became a household name!
Television definitely brought him recognition with comedy shows like Gutur Gu, Comedy Circus, Comedy Nights with Kapil, Mad In India and The Kapil Sharma Show and eventually led him back to movies.
In his second innings in the movies, Sunil Grover collaborated with top stars like Akshay Kumar in Gabbar Is Back, Tiger Shroff's Baaghi, filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj's Pataakha and Bharat with Salman Khan.
In picture: A still from the song 'Mere Husband Mujhko Piyar Nahin Karte', featuring Sunil Grover in her 'Gutthi' avatar!
Sunil Grover has indeed come a long way from entertaining guests at marriages in his village to now one of the most loved comedians in the entertainment industry!