Exclusive – Aasif Sheikh on his friendship with Salman Khan: He got me a couple of films when I was going through a rough phase

Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain’s Aasif Sheikh aka Vibhuti Narayan Mishra shares a great bond with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. Did you know they have been friends since Salman made his debut in the industry with Biwi Ho Toh Aisi? In an exclusive interaction with ETimes TV, Aasif Sheikh spoke about the bond he shares with him and how the actor helped him sail through during his tough times. (By Sukarna Mondal)

My friendship with Salman Khan goes a long long way. It was the time when Salman’s first film Biwi Ho Toh Aisi and my film Yaara Dildara released. Since that time we have been friends. He is like a family friend. Salim uncle (his father) is very fond of me. He loves me a lot. Salman also respects and loves me a lot. There are times when we don’t meet for months but whenever we meet we are on the same page. I really really appreciate Salman as he got me a couple of good films when I was going through a very rough phase. It’s a great friendship between Salman and me.

Yes, we miss Shilpa (Shinde). She is the original Angoori. When we started, our jodi was a big hit. Our scenes were the most-talked about scenes. But I feel on television no one is indispensable. Then Shubhangi (Atre) came. She is also doing a great job.

We share a great bond. She is a very sensible, intelligent and educated woman. She understands cinema. We respect each other and each other’s craft. We excel together. When we do a scene together, we discuss on how to better it. I have great chemistry with Shubhangi too. Though they are much younger than me, I never make them feel that I am older. I try to engage and interact with them with their type of conversation. There shouldn’t be any generation gap and I keep having fun with them.

Now we have 500 different shows. That time there was only Hum Log. I remember roads would be vacant when Hum Log would air. My role was also very glamorous in the show. Craze for us actors at that time was also maddening. We didn’t have money that time and would travel in auto rickshaws or two-wheelers. People would crowd us. It was like a dream. I remember one incident where I was invited as a chief guest to a girls’ college. I wore a new shirt and trousers. As soon as my car entered, I was surrounded by the girls and then taken aside to a locker room. I couldn’t even make it to the stage. When I returned home, my mom thought I came from a fight with my shirt and all torn.

I did a few comic films of David Dhawan but I didn’t get the mileage and footage as expected. Then I did a show called Tanhaa. I had a light-hearted role there. Rajan Wagdhare was producing Yes Boss then and he was looking for someone with not a regular comic face. He approached me and I told him of never doing slap-stick comedy before. My first scene was with Rakesh Bedi and I was all sweaty and my BP dropped. I couldn’t match up to the energy. He took me aside and told me to just improve 1 percent of what I am doing. That’s how I started with comedy and I was exploring my comic side. Now I enjoy doing comedy. I never intended to do daily soaps on TV. For us comedy shows are like live shows and there is a lot to explore.

Rakesh Roshan told me ‘What a joke’ is your takiya kalam. After Karan Arjun released, it became a rage. People would call me up and instead of saying ‘hello’ they would say ‘what a joke’.

Yes, TV has grown in stature. But content-wise I don’t feel. We started from Malgudi Days, Discovery of India and shows like these. But I don’t see the soul in content today, it is not so strong. But technically it has advanced. I feel there is a lot of potential in TV if we tap correctly. Audience has become smart. They want to see something else. But the same saas-bahu sagas are still on. We should try to give something new but we are not doing that. We are stuck with the concept of serving the same things which have worked so far.

When Bhabiji was launched, there were many other big shows which were on-air on channel. There was Begusarai, there was Shah Rukh Khan’s show and another big historical show, Bhabiji was launched as an experiment. The makers thought ‘let’s see if this work else will wrap it up in six months’. But in just a month it superseded all expectations. The channel is now known by the show.

Not the same. I am a bit serious in my personal life. I am not that flamboyant as you see me on-screen. I act my age. I have two grown-up kids and I can’t act like Vibhuti flirting with Bhabiji. I love to laugh. On an average, I am a little serious.