A deserving appraisal for Abhilash Thapliyal

Abhilash Thapliyal

"It feels like I got 100 per cent appraisal," starts off Abhilash Thapliyal, thrilled that his character SK from the popular TVF show, Aspirants got his own show, SK Sir Ki Class. While his character has not altered much, the actor says that the new show defines how he feels. "It feels amazing that I created a character that is loved and respected by all."

SK's gyaan, his abnormally large paunch, his dressing sense, and the NEET, NDA, and UPSC aspirants are the same, but the new YouTube show focuses on "the journey, the institute, and his guidance". "I did not try to add any layer to the character. While we were shooting for Aspirants, we created and built this character fairly well. I did not think that we would want to add any layer to it just because it's a spinoff," says the actor, who didn't realise the pressure reprising the character would bring. Thapliyal worked on his diction and SK's walk to get back into character. "I was not under any pressure until the day we started shooting. When I went on set, there were around 200 students waiting for me and 40 students waiting outside my vanity van on day one. I met three south Indian students, who came to prepare for their exams [after listening to] my one-minute monologue. That is when I realised I needed to at least live up to their expectations, and [the show has to] be on par with Aspirants."

Also Read: Abhilash Thapliyal: I had come to Mumbai to be a part of Kapil Sharma's show

Thapliyal is assured that Aspirants will come back with another season soon, although talks on the matter have not kicked off yet. "You cannot let go of such a beautiful world and stories. I also want to know the journey of SK ahead. A lot of people are enquiring about SK's love life," says the actor, who has just wrapped up Ajay Devgn's Maidaan, a Navdeep Singh directorial venture for Amazon Prime Video, and a yet-untitled project.