Big B has great energy: ‘Gulabo Sitabo’ co-actor Nalneesh Neel

By Ahana Bhattacharya 

Mumbai, June 15 “Gulabo Sitabo” actor Nalneesh Neel reveals he has learnt a lot from Amitabh Bachchan during the film’s shoot.

“It was a great moment working with Amitabh sir. He has great energy on the set. We worked together before in an advertisement shoot, and now this film. I feel fortunate because people only dream of working with him,” Nalneesh said.

“We went for a reading session at his residence in Mumbai and it was an amazing experience. I got to learn a lot of things from him and his dedication towards work. He makes his co-stars comfortable. He is a very supportive person and helped me a lot to improvise,” added the actor.

In the Shoojit Sircar directorial, Nalneesh Neel plays the caretaker of Fatima Mahal, the mansion owned by Fatima Begum, who is the wife of Mirza, Amitabh Bachchan’s protagonist. Nalneesh’s character has no dialogues because he is mute in the story.

“I, my wife and our son are very close to Mirza Shaikh (Amitabh Bachchan) and Fatima Begum (Farrukh Jafar) and take care of them. Amitabh sir and I had some funny moments together while filming in Lucknow,” recalled the actor.

“I had very few conversations with him and spoke mostly during our rehearsals. His behaviour on the set was humble and kind. We used to have a gala time on the set to make the mood light. He used to make everyone laugh,” Nalneesh added.

However, despite getting an opportunity to work with Amitabh Bachchan twice, Nalneesh has a major regret — not being able to click a photograph with him.

“When I did the ad shoot, I couldn’t take a picture with him. Even during this film, I couldn’t click a picture with him. On the last day of the shoot, I felt very shy to ask him for a photo. At one point of time, I gathered some courage to approach him and he replied, ‘haan bolo’. I told him that my mother wants to talk to you. Then he spoke to my entire family via video call and praised my work,” revealed the actor.

Directed by Shoojit Sircar, “Gulabo Sitabo” also stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Vijay Raaz, Brijendra Kala, Srishti Shrivastava and Farrukh Jafar. The movie premiered on Amazon Prime Video on Friday.