gurpreet i hateeeeeee uuu!

Gurpreet Singh, the man who is going to step into Rajeev Khandelwal's formidable shoes on Star Plus' Kahiin

to Hoga, is living life on the edge. Not used to being in the limelight, Gurpreet seems to be feeling a tad uncomfortable with the attention that he is suddenly getting as he recovers from a nose surgery done to make him look like Rajeev.

"Its difficult to tell people that I am busy…don't disturb," moans Gurpreet, who comes across as a simpleton who is nothing like the suave and worldly wise Sujal that he will soon play.

Spare a thought for this guy who planned to become a pilot, until his 'nice jawline' intervened. "I get two reactions --- some say that I will do a great job, but there are others who completely hate me. Then there are some who have told me that even Shah Rukh Khan himself would fail as Sujal," says Gurpreet with a laugh, only, it doesn't seem to reach his eyes! This is not all, he has to tolerate his own mother's opinion on the matter, because Gurpreet's mamma dearest is an absolute Rajeev fan!

Then there is the nose job that he has done, or to put things straight, he was made to do, what is the logic of going that far, we ask --- "Initially I wasn't in favour of an operation, but the doctor convinced me. I have been told that I look good, but there are some choices that you make," says Gurpreet with a sigh.

Gurpreet has not met Ekta Kapoor yet. He is in touch with the creative team, no higher upbut no one from the production house has been in touch. He has met his co-stars Aamna Shariff and Shabbir Ahluwalia, and when asked about his chemistry with the leading lady, he says,"I have not started shooting yet so I don't know how things are going to shape up!"

What about his meeting with Rajeev, we ask --- " I met Rajeev for 10 seconds on my first day, he was very nice to me and wished me luck. And as far as popularity is concerned, all I can say is let's wait and watch.

Though Ekta thinks otherwise, the photographs that we have leads us to believe that the lad looks nothing like Rajeev, nose and all! His acting skills are yet to be judged and above everything else, he has to work his chemistry not only with Aamna Shariff, but also the Indian audiences, both at home and abroad!

If anybody demands sympathy and a patient shoulder to lean on, it is surely this guy! We hope that Gurpreet doesn't go the Rakshak (Remember the original Kkavya in Kkavyanjali!) way. Till yesterday, Gurpreet knew that he was going to start shooting from Friday, but now he will know the course of events only next week. This is a lot of uncertainty for one guy to live with!

Meanwhile, Gurpreet has acted in two films, Bhay and Madhubala and done quite a number of ads. He has dreams of making it big in Bollywood, and hopes that he can manage both the small and the big screen simultaneously. This is his first foray into tellydom, and he hopes that he can make it big here as well. Incidentally, Gurpreet had also auditioned for the lead in Sony's Kaisa Yeh Pyaar Hai, a role that finally went to Iqbal Khan.

Above everything else, the one thing that is going to really weigh him down is the popularity of the character that he is going to play. He can be rest assured that all telly watchers, specially the followers of this popular Balaji show, will
be glued to their television sets to get a look at the guy who has replaced their favourite son. To live up to their expectation will be a Herculean task, to say the least.

"I want to lead a normal life, and am scared that my life will change from now on, " says Gurpreet, admitting that he enjoys the adulation that comes with playing Sujal. This is one thing that Gurpreet has perhaps come to accept that being Sujal has its negative and positive points --- its a package, take it or leave it!

An operation and a makeover later, Gurpreet surely will look the part, but will the ruthless world of television let him survive the grind? Only time will tell.