When we asked you before, most of you were adamant that no one can play Guthi the way Sunil Grover can. Unfortunately, the actor is no longer a part of Comedy Nights With Kapil – his contract was over, and when he asked for a hike (which he says he deserved), the production house flat-out refused. He continued playing the character for a few episodes after that, but according to Sunil, he finally reached a point where he had to leave. The backlash that followed that was major: the production house sent out a notice saying that they own the character of Guthi, and so it cannot be used elsewhere. Sunil, on the other hand, insists that the character belongs to him since he had played it on shows prior to his stint on Comedy Nights With Kapil.
Now, it looks like the CNWK team has indeed found a replacement for Sunil. Saif Ali Khan shot for an episode recently to promote Bullett Raja, and from the photos we can see that comedian Gaurav Gera is a dressed in a distinctly Guthi-like avatar. Although he is supposed to be a replacement for Sunil Grover and is playing a similar role, it is likely that this character will not be called Guthi. There is a chance that this may be an extension of Mrs Pammi Pyarelal, a character that Gaurav had played on another Colors show for a few months this year. The show didn’t run for too long, but the character became at least mildly recognisable, so it’s possible that the channel is trying to milk that.
It’s also possible that Gaurav’s character is just meant to stick around for a short period of time, while the producers try to figure out what to do about the character of Guthi. There are reports – although we’re not sure how accurate – that they are trying to fix matters with Sunil Grover and bring him back on the show. But Sunil seems to not be interested at all – he told DNA recently that, “Returning to CNWK is out of the question for me. I may not even return to playing Gutthi again. But I’ll always wish Kapil’s show all the best. I only wish my departure was done with more dignity.”
Whatever the case is, it’s a really sad state of affairs right now!
More pix here:
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Pix: Yogen Shah for MissMalini