Exclusive - Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain's Saanand Verma aka Saxena: I quit my job of Rs 50 lakh per annum and walked 50 km a day to give auditions

Saanand Verma, who is renowned for his role of Anokhelal Saxena in the sitcom, Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain, recently won the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Icon Awards for his role. The actor has a large body of work in films, digital platforms, advertisement world. In an exclusive interview with ETimes TV, Saanand bared his heart out and spoke about the difficulties he underwent in his personal life, similarities between his and Saxena's character, fan moments, upcoming films, and more. Read on: (Photos - Instagram)

I am on the seventh heaven. Any recognition for any actor is very good because my job is to make people happy. When the audience at large is happy, it's only then we get an award. Getting Dadasaheb Phalke Icon Award Films 2021 is very important for me and I take it very seriously. I feel a deep sense of gratitude towards everyone responsible for my success.

I've been working as a professional actor since 2010 and I started with C.I.D as a lab assistant, that was my first job. There are many people who are not aware of the fact that I have done more than 20 television series before Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain. I used to do cameo roles in those TV series, which was a deliberate attempt. I'd planned on doing cameos only because I never wanted to be a television actor. I always wanted to be a film actor. I have done films also. I never used to take up assignments where I was told that I have to do a continuity character on a television show because once I do such a character, my face is exposed completely. Vision gives you a lot of recognition but there are its downsides as well. Once you are very very famous for a character on television, then film guys are reluctant to take you onboard, that's the problem. Film people think that this guy is overexposed and nobody will buy tickets and go to theatres to watch his films. That is the reason why it is difficult for a television actor to switch and become a film actor. This was the reason why I was against television assignments. I did cameos in 20 shows before Bhabiji but I was not exposed.

Anokhelal Saxena in Bhabiji is the first continuity role and I've almost done 1700 episodes in more than six years now. The reason I accepted this character was, it was a very unusual and challenging character. It was damn difficult for any actor to pull it off. I am a mad guy in real life also. My director, Shashank Bali, thought that I am Saxena in real life. Shashank knew me from my corporate days, he is also from a corporate background, and he knew that I am not perfectly mentally fine and understood that I am having some kind of issues. I have some kind of issues in my mental world. Therefore, Shashank thought that I am Saxena in real life also. That's the reason, he recommended by name to the producer, casting team, and here I am doing this very unusual, uncommon character. The role of Saxena is very original. It is something that is not found in any kind of world television. As an actor, it was very fulfilling and challenging for me, and that's why I took up this role. I thought that this role can do wonders for my life and it can revolutionise my career as well as the entertainment world. At the same time, I drifted and started doing films also. I am an actor, known not only for Saxena but my other characters also.

All my life, I have been experiencing very bizarre things. Every day, I feel that there is an invisible power over me and that is the reason I thank God. Every day, there is something happening, some miracle and I feel maybe someone is just using a joystick and playing, and the entire world is a video game for somebody. Every day I see something very bizarre, extremely disturbing sometimes, and my life has been very weird. I was an eight-year-old kid when I started earning for my family. I have seen various fields and I have been educating myself through things in my life. I was a guy earning Rs 50 lakh per annum in my corporate job, and I just quit that job and started walking 50 km every day like a mad man, just to be an actor. I thought that my true calling is acting. Therefore, I quit my secured job and put all my money into the house, and sold my car because I didn't have any money left to pay for my vehicle. Public transportation like bus and train was not my cup of tea because I used to earn a lot of money in my corporate job. I thought that I cannot afford a cab or even an auto-rickshaw, so, I have to go on foot. I started walking 50 km every day from Mira Road to Andheri to give auditions and back from Andheri to Mira Road. It was my daily routine. Only a mad man like me can think to do something like this.

No. I am a very positive person and when I walked, I observed a lot of people. Acting is all about observation. If you observe nicely, you can become a great actor. If I am driving a car, my focus will only be on driving. When I am on feet, I can observe and I can learn to become a better actor. Within six months of my audition phase, I became an advertising star, thanks to Anuj Sharma, who directed 'Badhaai Ho'. He's a fantastic friend and a great filmmaker. He used to work with me on a lot of ads. So, he made me an advertising star. My 'IDEA' ad where I say, "Idea sir ji, aap kaun se 'ped' ho, 'pre-paid' ho ya 'post-paid' ho?" That commercial was a super-duper hit and in between, I used to dabble with television also. Shashank offered me roles in F.I.R and I've done more than 100 characters in it.

Once I quit my corporate job, I was left with no money. I had got a lot of money in the form of gratuity and Provident Fund, and I used that money to waive my home loan off because having a house in Mumbai is a very big achievement. I thought, 'Let me get my own house, first, and I can think about other things later.' The home loan was cleared, I was unable to repay the car loan, that is why I just sold it off and I started walking. That is one example of why I feel that I am a mad guy. There are many other things to justify this point. I am a singer also and was a corporate guy, who would leave home for work at 8 am but I would wake up at 5 for my 'riyaaz' (practise). After my 'riyaaz' I used to go to the office and would barely sleep for 4 hours.

I've done too many things in life just like Saxena. I was a journalist, did corporate jobs, farming, published books too. I feel very close to Saxena because he is an honest guy. I feel from the core of my heart that I am an honest person, and I will never ever hurt anyone. I always love people and I will try to do my best. Either I will do it from the bottom of my heart or I won't do it. I don't know how to be diplomatic.

I have never ever regretted anything in my life. People who have a fixed temperament are predictable. I have deliberately been working on trying to be unpredictable over a period of time, especially, ever since I took up professional acting. I am not supposed to be a fix guy. If I am not fixed that means my temperament is also not fixed. There are at times when others may feel uncomfortable because of my temperament because I am very unpredictable. If you are a very good learner, you also need to unlearn it.

I share a very good rapport with my technicians, art director, the entire crew and everybody, who is involved in this creative project, I am in love with that every person. It's not just the co-actors. In the business that we are in, it's very important to take along our entire team and recognise everyone. People who are in front of the camera are very important but people who are behind the camera are equally important.

Children love me unconditionally and I often get emotional about it. There are so many kids, who say 'I like it' on receiving a slap from their teachers. Those teachers have written to me about it. I try to stay careful with my gestures and behaviour because children can easily get influenced by it. I don't want children to get disappointed by me through any of my gestures. My only focus is to entertain them. I also go on like each and every comment on my posts and even try to reply to them. I don't have a manager and I do all by myself. The great thing about Saxena is that the fan following is in all age groups. I touch all the demographics - be it youngsters, children, or senior citizens. I am a creatively very active person. If you put me in jail, I might write a book of 5000 pages and I am never going to get bored. I feel that if you are getting bored then you are a dead person.

Whenever a kid's mother, father or relative says that their child is a very big fan of mine, then I make a video and send it to them. Normally, there are very few celebrities who record videos and send them to their fans. I love my fans unconditionally. The receiver of my work is my audience and whatever that I am today, is because of my viewer. The end user of my services are my viewers. Therefore, it becomes very important to keep them happy.

When the lockdown scenario happened, I was busy making videos on a platform and my followers increased massively. Within 10-15 days, I had a million followers, I was working even back then but the only difference was I wasn't being paid for it. I can write, sing, direct, and people who are creatively rich, can utilise their time in a very positive manner. I did the same during the lockdown and I had an enjoyable time and was very happy.