'It is a tough job to make people laugh'

Bollywood star Manjot Singh, who gained popularity for his portrayal of Lali in 2013 comedy 'Fukrey', got candid with 'Millennium Post' regarding his character in SonyLiv's new web series 'Chutzpa' and his career taking shape without any godfather.

Revealing about his character briefly, Manjot shared, "Rishi is a guy who is in search of love but lacks confidence when it comes to confessing his feelings to any girl who he starts liking. One day he meets a girl online, named 'Wild Butterfly' (played by Elnaaz Norouzi). Rishi feels his world has become beautiful and lively once he starts gaining confidence by talking to her and then decides to confess his feelings to her."

So what makes Rishi different than Manjot's previous characters played by the latter so far?

"What makes Rishi different is the fact that he is a naïve and innocent person who believes that the world around him is a better place because he is a good person. But as things slowly unfold in front of him, he learns that not only distant friends, but even his close ones are not what he used to perceive them as," he mentioned.

Speaking on whether Rishi and the actor have any similarities, Manjot replied, "Not at all! In 'Chutzpa', the audience will see Rishi spending all of his time in front of a laptop chatting online and video calling with his friends and playing poker. I, on the other hand, am not that much active on social media. I prefer meeting people face to face and chill out with friends. I cannot stay at home and be stuck with a laptop all day."

When it comes to his film career, Manjot feels 'blessed' to be a part of the Hindi cinema where he got opportunities to work with skilled actors and filmmakers.

"Coming from a non-film background, I never thought that one day I will be doing films. I feel blessed that film offers came my way unexpectedly after my debut movie and I got several opportunities to work with talented actors and directors. With each film, I grew to realise that it will take time for me to get films without the help of any godfather," said the 'Fukrey' star.

Mainstream Bollywood has always preferred A-list celebrities for best scripts and awe-inspiring roles and restricted Sikh actors to funny roles only - something which Singh feels is changing gradually.

"I believe that Sikh actors are now being taken seriously for comical as well as for other roles," he said. The young actor however believes that making people laugh is the most difficult job. "It is not very tough to make people cry with the help of serious roles, emotional stories and heartbreaking incidents. But to make people laugh within a specific time takes a lot more. Essaying a funny character is very challenging. No one teaches actors how to make anyone laugh at the right time as it is something in-built," revealed Manjot.

If given a chance, Singh said he would love to try romantic roles in future.