Exclusive! Gaurav Gera on Criminal Justice 3: People messaged me, 'Arey Chhutki! Why so serious'

Actor-comedian Gaurav Gera, who plays a pivotal character in the latest released web series Criminal Justice Season 3, says that his fans and audience are messaging him saying that they are surprised to see him in a serious character.

The story of the web series is set in a background of a murder investigation. The narrative starts with the sudden murder of a young girl Zara Ahuja, who is also the daughter of a famous actress Avantika Ahuja. The prime suspect of the murder is Zara's brother Mukul. With twist and turns of event, the investigation and courtroom drama unfolds the person and motive behind the murder.

Gaurav gained huge popularity with his funny characters on social media, like Chutki-Shopkeeper, and Chutki Ki Geetmala among others. However, in the latest show, he has taken his audience to surprise by playing a very serious character and his natural acting skill made his performance quite relatable for the viewers.

In conversation with OTTplay, Gaurav opens up.

Excerpt:

The world of the show is very different from the on-screen image that you have of a comedian with your famous Chutki-shopkeeper. How your loyal audience is reacting?

Well, I have received a lot of messages and one of them even DM me saying, "Arey Chhutki! Why so serious?" I think people did not imagine me to be part of a crime drama and play such a serious character. But I am a normal person in real life, not as funny as those on-screen characters I played in my videos. I am glad that I can surprise my audience with my acting.

But do you think it is at times tough to break that stereotype of being a comedian?

Yes, it could be tough, especially if your on-screen characters are so well received. Then the line between on-screen and off-screen gets blurred. We tend to forget that Chhutki is a character! Being an actor, then it becomes my responsibility to break that image by doing something completely different. In real life, I am rather a serious person who is a constant learner, I am someone who enjoys insightful conversation than small talk.

Having said that, I make a conscious effort not to reveal my real-life personality too much on social media where I am trying to make people believe that such fictional characters like Chhutki exist. People know the image I created on social media through my content, which is funny, engaging and entertaining.

How did you prepare for the character?

One of the reviews that I have received is 'Gaurav Gera looks natural in his character.' I think when I was approaching the role, I was trying to relate to the situation and I wanted it to look natural in the performance and not quite a staged acting. Every time I think how a character would react in such a situation when something of that sort happens to his son!

I think natural acting is the trend that has been appreciated by the audience now; the way the camera captures every single movement of your face muscle it is easy to be a natural actor for me.

How was your experience of working with the team of CJS3, especially Pankaj Tripathi?

I loved working with the whole team and I have done this after a long time. Usually, I do non-fiction and show hosting, apart from content creation. So working with a big team of so many people, technicians, actors and everybody out there - I had great fun.

I have worked with Pankaj before Criminal Justice S3 once. He, in my eyes, hasn't changed at all. We still can sit down and talk about everything other than just the cinema. In fact, I have worked with him on one of the upcoming projects and there also we have an interesting equation on-screen. Since I am not allowed to talk about it officially, I cannot disclose anything.

Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach is directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Applause Entertainment and BBC Studios India. It is also featuring - Swastika Mukherjee, Kalyanee Mulay, and Purab Kohli among others.

The show is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.