Swwapnil Joshi

A multi-faceted actor, Swwapnil belongs to a league of actors who has achieved great success across films and television. On television too he has acted in and anchored several popular reality and fiction shows. Swwapnil is one of the few actors on Indian television who is always ready to experiment with characters and genres and is blessed with great comic sense.
GR8! Spoke to him on the set of Star Pravah ‘Dhabal - Ek Taas Time Paas’ about the show… 


Reason to be associated with this show?
The concept of the show is very interesting and new. For the first time in Indian Television there is a show which is between fiction and nonfiction. I wanted to be associated with Star Pravah, Amit  Phalke and Jayesh Patil since a long time but with something interesting. So when they came to me with the concept of this show, I thought this was the right opportunity, as I always try to do something new.

What according to you is the USP of this show?
I think it is the space between fiction and nonfiction that will click the audience. The show sometimes becomes a reality show as we invite celebrities and sometimes a daily soap. Also when a celebrity guest comes on the show, he leaves his celebrity status and comes as a normal person and interacts with me. I think the mix of reality and daily soap in one show is the USP of the show but also I would like to say that at the end of the day, it’s the audience who decides the USP of the show.

Sometimes don’t you think the show might get compared to other shows which are of same genre like Comedy Nights With Kapil?
I take it as a compliment and somewhere if it is getting compared with Comedy Nights With Kapil I am honored because as an audience I also love that show and follow it. Ali Asgar is like my brother and he is doing a great job in that show. The show is brilliant and if audiences feel that this show is somewhere similar to Comedy Nights, then it is good for me.

In the show you are playing the character Swapnil so what is difference between real and reel Swapnil ?
Obviously the show is scripted so there will be difference between real and reel Swapnil. The character Swapnil in the show is a little witty and manipulative. In one line if I have to describe on-screen Swapnil I would say that he is loveable rascal and real Swapnil is not rascal, he is only Loveable.

Did you face a Difficulty while shooting the show as it’s a new concept?
Difficulty is format as it is new for us and also for the audience. According to me to make this format easy, loveable and acceptable was a little difficult. But at the same time we are happy with the response that we are getting.

You just gave a blockbuster in Marathi Cinema, how does it feel?
It’s amazing but I would like to say that nobody plans a blockbuster everybody plans a good film. We are here to make a good film and if it becomes a blockbuster, it’s all destiny. we didn’t make Duniyaadari it a hit, it was the love of audience and their love that made it a blockbuster.

After giving such a huge hit, expectations from you have has increased. Does it scare you?
No I am not, it helps me work harder, better and stronger. Audience has given us so much love and responsibility on us, now when they come to theater they are confident that if these people have made a movie then it will be good. Their expectations give me strength to work better. If I would have believed only in success and hits then I would have got scared.

Memorable incidents from the show?
There are many funny incidents that happen on the sets. For instance, In one of our episodes, the celebrity guest was Naagesh Bhosale. He plays a strong character in his daily show, but when he was on our show he was totally different and he also played a rock song that stunned the audience. There are such many incidents, basically Dabaal is a place where anything can happen. Something which you can’t see in outside world, for example Sai Tamankar who is a Diva in Marathi industry when she came on our show, everyone saw how cute and innocent she is compared to her on-screen image. Dhaabal is a personal space where you don’t think and talk, you are real, you are just yourself.

Which is your Dhabal i.e personal space?
My personal space is with my friends, my duniyadaari gang, Sanjay Jadhav, Sai, Ankush Chaudhary and all whenever we meet that place becomes our Dhabaal. The place doesn’t matter wherever we meet our nonsense starts.

Any inspiration for playing this character?
The inspiration is myself. I am like that only in real life, I love meeting my friends, spending time with them, talking to people and that is what exactly I am doing in Dhabbal. The inspiration for me in this show is all my friends who inspire me to do a show like this.

One person whom you would love to invite in Dhabaal?
Raj Shaeb Thackeray because I think he extremely funny, very witty and intelligent and it will be great to see him in Dhabal.



- Ranjini Nair