Talented actor, Sumeet Raghavan, is all set to reprise the role of Mohan Bharti, the Hindi teacher at the National Institute of Languages, who handles a class of diverse students from across India as well as from foreign countries, in the rebooted version of Zabaan Sambhal Ke.
Zabaan Sambhal Ke, the much-loved sitcom that ran from 1993 to 1998, made a comeback on ALTBalaji with a fresh cast. The reboot of the show, consisting of 10 episodes, is streaming on Ekta Kapoor’s digital platform, ALTBalaji, and will be directed by Rajiv Mehra, who helmed the original series.
In conversation with IWMBuzz.com, Sumeet spoke about the series, web platform and more.
How was your experience playing the iconic character of Mohan Bharti?
It was an absolute honour and a great pleasure to reprise the character that was played by the legendary actor, Pankaj Kapoor. Rajivji has managed to put everything in place to get the iconic show back on screen. Today’s generation should know about Zabaan Sambhal Ke. It was amazing working with a talented bunch of people on the rebooted version.
Are you ready for the comparison?
I am ready for all kinds of comparisons, but I feel there is no comparison. Pankajji is a terrific actor and I feel lucky and blessed to play a character portrayed by him. The set-up of the series is new. I look at the project with freshness.
How did you prepare yourself for the role?
I did not do anything for the role. I just kept the innocence of the character alive. I kept that in my mind and never let it go.
How similar or different is it from the original series?
The humour in this version is double-edged. All kinds of characters come from different strata. We also have a porn-star in the class, so it is a different kind of language used in the series.
How was it to work with producer Rajiv Mehra?
Rajivji comes from the film-making school. It is great to work with such an immensely talented person. You get to learn with every scene. With his experience adding on to the series, we have put in our 100% to the series.
Have you seen the original series? Which was your favourite character?
Yes, I have seen the series. I loved Mohan Bharti and Sneh Lata Dixit’s banter in the series.
Describe your character in the series?
Mohan Bharti is the same as he was in the original series. He is still cribbing for a raise in his salary and he keeps getting stuck in problematic situations.
Why were there rumours about the series getting scrapped?
I don’t have any idea on the same. In fact, we have already done 3 episodes. We will do a test drive and see the response of the audience on the same.
When are you coming back on TV?
I am really hoping to be back soon, but it is also difficult for me to get involved completely for a longer time in a TV project. I would love to do a finite series. However, now I have my Marathi movies getting released, so waiting for them.