Ali Asgar: Acting funny is my forte

Double Eid delight
"After all those rona-dhona scenes in the recent episodes of Kahaani following the exit of Om's character, I was dying to do a wacko comedy and Hum Paanch came as a welcome relief.

This time for Eid it will be a double delight, since both Hum Paanch and David Dhawan's movie, Shaadi No. 1(where he plays a fake boyfriend of Soha Ali Khan) are coming this week," enthuses Asgar.

Here, the Chachu of Kahaani who will shortly be shifting to his new high-rise sea-facing apartment at Yari Road, talks about his comic roles

Will you quit Kahaani, now that you've grabbed a good role in the revamped Hum Paanch?
No, that's a wrong impression. My character, Kamal, who looks helpless caught between his attachment to Parvati bhabhi and the opposition of the rest of the Agarwal parivaar, will continue with the Kahaani track as usual.

Honestly speaking, I was thrilled when I was singled out by Ekta Kapoor to play this bumbling ghar-jamai, Purshottam, who is a henpecked husband married to Meenakshi (Vandana Pathak of Instant Khichdi).

After so much of rona-dhona and heavy-duty emotional scenes in Kahaani after the death of Om bhaiyya's character, I was dying to play a funny, wacko role.

Acting funny has been my forte and I've done several comedy serials before, like Dil Vil Pyar Vyar. In fact, I have also featured in David Dhawan's latest comedy flick, Shaadi No 1, where heroine Soha Ali Khan pretends to flirt with me in a fake fling.

Do you feel like an outsider on the Hum Paanch set?
Yes, initially I had this mental apprehension, since I was working with all of them individually for the first time. Also, my character did not exist in the original batch of Hum Paanch episodes. But to my startling surprise they welcomed me so warmly and gelled with me as if I had always been part of the Mathur parivaar.

Once we were ignited we all would burst into our punchlines like a long necklace of crackers… our comic timing is that good. Since I play a henpecked hubby, my four saalis fondly call me 'ghulam'.

As Kamal, there is a glaring absence of a romantic track for you. Comment.
I totally agree! My non-romantic character is more like a budnaseeb widower, but I have my share of intense dramatic scenes within the Agarwal family. There are talks going on among the team of Kahaani writers; and Kamal may get emotionally closer to Trishna (Mita Vashist), who realizes that she was never formally married to Om's character.

How about sharing the untold kahani of your Asgar 'ghar'?
(Sorry, all you nubile girls) Well, I am already married to this pretty girl called Siddiqueh from Pune. Although I have a so-called romantic image, this was an arranged marriage, which took place three years ago. We have an 18-month old son, Akbar, a little terror I have nicknamed 'Tiger'. Every time I reach home, he is there to fondly attack me like a tiger cub.

Your general knowledge seems good, considering your performance on KBC.
Not at all, my general knowledge is no great shakes. But my awareness relating to showbiz gyaan is excellent. That's how I won the 'fastest finger first' round and correctly answered the Bollywood-related sawaal. And since I had worked with Bachchan saab earlier as a co-star in this David Dhawan movie, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, I wasn't nervous while settling on the KBC 'hot seat'.