Prem Juneja-'The Ideal and Perfect Man
24 years of age, first role as a successful solo lead, and
he ends up saying that it was inspired from Batman =)) .. Jokes apart, how does
actually a girl's prince on the white horse looks like ?.
The only answer, my mind can give is Prem Juneja, simple,
subtle, formal and some unbeatable personna. Mostly seen in his formal shirts
and pants, this character played by Harshad had nothing remarkable to add to
the style statement. Moreover, the haircut which he initially adorned was very
like the one a common man has. But as we believe that, more than the looks or
the outfits, it matters the most that how they r carried by the person, an dif
that clicks, then that becomes a rage. Harshad Chopra at that young age not
only brought the required amount of maturity, d soberness with his character
but also made sure that he ices it with a trendy stubble that had actually
changed the ideology that only clean shaven guys can be ideal. He had brought
some amount of rawness, the spark that a young ideal guy who has his own world
for his love needed. It wasn't like that viewers haven't seen the hero of a
show in that external look of formal shirts, with folded sleeves, but when
Harshad sported the same sort of look, he managed to bring an extraordinary
xfactor, be it his keeping his hands in his pockets while dealing with a
serious shot where his character needed to be the proactive one, or be it the
same guy who stood with his award in front of the same media, in the similar
look, but with out an out different posture, that could show the visible
difference that he was the same Prem but abandoned by his dad. That was the
first phase of his journey as Prem Juneja, and he had already set the trends of
a stubble, hair that could cover the forehead and not actually well set for the
shot which was kind of a new way of getting presented onscreen those days .
Gaurav Sharma ' The Badass
Eeeks, return of the man himself to the show, and this time
not as the Prem Juneja, but something newer to offer his fans, and the cherry
on the cake was that, starting from his character, every single thing was
different including his look. The shot of him in the barren desert with his
long back colored overcoat on, running to save the lady love still flashes in
my sight. There was actually an instant search on Gaurav Sharma's mufflers, his
tea cups, the long black jacket, the bag with the mandoling at his back, as
soon as his that very look got transformed into another one. The way he used to
walk, the muffler on, with the tea cup on his hand, his way of sitting, his way
of talking, the postures, the impression, everything was just so different and
contrasting to Prem, that if faces wouldn't be of the same man, it would be
hard to believe that same person played both the diverse parts of the same
characters. Harshad also wore some very stylish jackets, t-shirts, converses,
goggles, forehead bands and some great looking quarter pants and flipflops
while he portrayed Gaurav onscreen. Nor only his character looked completely
different but also, with the impression his look and performance gave us, it
was hard to believe that he could be the dead ideal Prem.
Papa Prem
It was the time when Prem was stone hearted man after
losing his wife, he was aimless, his youth was gone, he had stepped into next phase of his life. He entered into his
mid 30s, as the show took a 7 year leap. But what made Harshad look like being
in his mid 30s when he actually was only 26 years old ? The story believable,
he not only gained weight to look like and older Prem, but also chose to grow his
stubble a bit more and thenm transform it to a full fledged stylish beard which
indeed complemented his persona onscreen. Costumes were completely altered as
he was mostly seen in polos of single colours with a complementary coat . To
point out, he also adorned a piece of spectacles to give a more matured and
grown up vive to the character of Prem Juneja after the leap. This time he was
not only a young lover boy who goes on making sacrifices for his wife, but he
was a much more responsible son, a father who was thirsty for his daughter's
love, a husband who was broken in his wife's rejection, and lastly a famous
business man who had the world in his fist. These details were not only covered
by his character's scenes and dialogues but also by every gesture of Prem, his
walk, his talk, his clothes, Harshad just aced it that, no matter how he looks,
given that his role has to look believable he can go on and experiment with his
looks and make it look real and attractive too.
Anurag Ganguly 'The Bengali Babu
Eventhough there was not much difference in ONU's external look thoughout the show, but still HC had managed to bring his own different kind of portrayal for the ONU who had just returned from the States and the Onu who later gets settled up in Kolkata. Initially, when the leap happened nd Onu came back from America after 8 years, Harshad soprted some cool formales, single coloured, plane above d waist shirts, with a blazer dat has a contrasting colour in accord with the shirt and deep blue coloured denims. Shoes were not formals, but the casual ones. In order to convince the viewers the state of the character, to give the look of the character a bit of foreign touch but indeed the context being a desi guy, Harshad chose to have a different hairstyle, unlike his usual one. He adorned a gelled and set hair while all the buttons of the shirt were done.To add up, Onu had those single coloured t-shirts and trousers in the form of his home clothing. The character was in its early 20s, and Harshad ensured that every inch of it makes it look real and believable amongst the audience. Just the way the character became a rage, people ended up at loving Onu's look a lot, it was nothing extravaganza, as he was a simple guy and indeed had to look simple, but Harshad managed to deliver the right impression of Onu, not only via his performance but also via the way he carried out the look. He looked young, he looked youthful and at the same time that certain amount of maturity and rigidness that his character initially needed as he played the son of a rich and famous man who himself was one of the top business tycons of USA.
The later phase of the very same Onu has a slightly different story. After getting completely set in his hometown Kolkata, Onu had adjusted himself into that environment. Similary, the characterisation plus his external look saw a transformation, eventhough it is little for the latter one. This time the hairstyle had a significant change, once again, he carried out his " much loved" hairstyle by the fans. No more gell, no more formal combing, but the one which covered his forehead well. Moreover, now Onu had started to undone his top two buttons of the his shirts, unlike the phase when he just returned. The icing on the cake for this character was that Harshad played a pure bengali, and his fans rejoiced it once they saw him adorning bengal's traditional dhoti-kurtas with the chappals. Being a bengali myself, Harshad put me amazed as it was a surprise and a delight to se him carry the dhoti-kurtas so well. Nowhere he made his viewers feel that this was his first attempt. Dhotis usally had light colours and common ones were golden and white, while his kurtas need a special mention. All of them were of deep colours, which contrasted very well with his fair complexion. He indeed looked super gorgeous. Thus no queries if his fans are eager and very desperate to se him once again as a bengali babu in future roles. Harshad simply rocked.
Pagal Onu
There were days when in the context of hindi serials, the
male lead being mad for any reason meant that he would have a very tidy look,
and end up at acting like an eight year old kid and throwing and breaking
things surrounding him and viewers believed that the guy is mentally unstable .
14th june 2010, was just the new beginning discovering that there
were still more ways, something much more astonishing of showcasing a mad
person in TV. Messed up hair, with a very untidy cut, grown up beard covering
the face, wearing the uniform which usually mental patients in assylems wear ,
Harshad's character of Onu got introduced in the very first episode. Since then
that part of his character is called pagal Onu. Usually, these days either we
see male actors ending up at giving stylish looks or sticking with their
already loved outer look, but Harshad Chopra, after a hit stint in his previous
show as the prince charming Prem, took the risk, not only the risk of
attempting to portray a very unusual character of a guy losing his mental
stability after losing his lady love but also by choosing to go deglam and
sporting an avatar that would hardly appeal to what we usually call the " young
girls". But still history was rewritten, after the premiere episode itself, his
fans started demanding more of pagal Onu. It was a pleasure to know that
Harshad went thru tough times for making his look of pagal Onu convincing, he
had to sport an artificial beard and moustache that would be glued upto his
face making it difficult for him to make movement of his jawline. But indeed,
he carried it of with so much ease that ensured his audience that yes acting is
not only telling dialogues and giving poses, acting is accepting the character,
getting drowned in it and living it every moment both physically and mentally.
Pagal Onu till the end maintained his same external appearance, and with that
in a very single show Harshad showcased that how versatile he can be, and how
convincingly he can carry all the shades of the same character at the same
time. Kudos to him for making Pagal Onu still remembered more for his look.
Mohan 'The Geek
The moment we think that there has to be a saturation point with Harshad experimenting and versatiling his characters and with looks, the next very moment he surprises us and claims that his fans are still lucky ones to get to see him again in a completely new avatar. This time, Mohan Gala was not lavish like Prem or Onu, on the contrasts, the first episode showed him as a geek. Oiled hair parted in between, clean shaven, long and lose ordinary shirts buttoned fully from top to bottom and even sleeves, people at first failed to believe that out and out geek look. Around 18-19 years of geek Mohan, who was actually shown in flashback and the female lead's dreams, made Harshad appear in this completely new plus risky outer look. For some he was the cutest Champu and for some he was shocker as instead of a hott and handsome Harshad the initial phase of Mohan Gala was unexpectedly marked by this avatar of him. Irrespective of the reviews and even criticisms, Harshad made sure that the geek Mohan was something that his fans would go on and miss in future as later as the show progressed with the cool, and handsome Mohan there was various instants when all the Mohan bawriis wished that " kaash, we could get another glance of our Champu Mohan ".
Mohan Gala 'Mr. MG
MG , cigar on his mouth, cards in his hand, denims, t-shirt and a jacket worn, gambling at an event, and that was the sight which all Hcians awaited for . The brat Mohan, the cool Mohan, or should I say the transformed foreighn returned Mohan Gala aka MG. Mohan was no more a geek, his london stint made traversed him into a completely new zone, not only in his philosophies but also in his external appearance. The entry scene itself, came as a source of oxygen for many, some went crazy for the shoes Mohan wore, and some were nonstop praising his jacket, and what more should I say about the goggles. If that wasn't enuff, just like the onscreen relatives of Mohan, his fans also went on to pinch themselves to actually believe that how good this guy was looking while jogging at the garden, with a skulcap on and a wrist band, with sneakers. If that was not enough, Harshad had more in his kitty to blow his fans again, the foreign returned Mohan Gala, had an out and out cool dude casual look, it was denims and fashionable tees for him all the way. Point to be noted was his tees were a rage including the texts on them. Who can forget the tee with the text of " I don't know fashion, because I am fashion ". As there is a say, life has ups and downs, Mohan fans too had ups and downs considering his look, the days, the moments there would be endless discussions on how hott Mohan looks, how good his style looks, how great his haircut is, the very next day, a disaster happens and Mohan or should I say Harshad had given a very short haircut, forehead wasn't covered, and urti zulfein was on a vacation. Pictures of Mohan before and after the haircut was compared, age of Mohan was compared, research in google was made on how many days can it take for a person to get back his long hair, and still fans were flattered with the look he adorned. There were chants on " Harshad, we will kill your barber', and there were sotthings that very soon we will get back the old haircut. Consequently, the last phase of Mohan Gala, who had already turned into a successful businessman, from a geek and then from a gambler, the transformation was worthy a watch for hardcore HCians. Harshad sported, formal, one coloured shirts with folded sleeves, and jeans with a watch on his wrist. The way he carried out many colours, such as burnt orange and light viloet, and even light pink, hardly we can see men carrying them so well. There wasn't a doubt that this guy looked the best as Mohan Gala in his entire career, with an amazing style statement. Fans still desire to see Harshad enact a role of a brat come- cool dude once again .
Raghav 'The bloody mechanic
Half tucked checked shirt, hair lurking on his forehead,
shabby stubble, and who could believe that this street boy who has a garage as
a shelter and works as a mechanic to earn his bread and butter actually
belonged to a Royal family indeed. Harshad's fans can say that this was d best
look of his till date, rugged, rough and tough, a man who is rebellious, who
can be violent and simultaneously protective for his ethics, the dilemma of
right versus wrong and still manage to make it a rage with his style statement.
If I am not wrong, he was completed not only by his fans, but also the new
audience who welcomed him as Raghav, the mechanic Raghav. Harshad not only made
sure that he fitted into the character well, but he also made sure that, from
every angle his persona as a mechanic overlaps his external look onscreen, he
gained weight, he adorned a metal piece on his wrist, the signature black vest,
or be it his style of punching his bag, everything had an aura, and similarly
totally different from his previous onscreen looks. Along his admirers, the
media had also included his rugged Raghav look as one of the most lady killing
looks of those times, no doubt that why most of us and actually all the "
Raghav" fans were on a spree of buying checked shirts those days :P .. The mechanic is gone, but still the
character that redefined heroism for many, is still fresh and alive in our
hearts.
Raghavendra Pratap Singh, the owner of Singh empire
As a fan first reaction obviously was, " we will miss our
mechanic". Second reaction was, " we hate that gel on your hair Harshad ".
Third reaction was " We hate to see that stubble gone L ". And after a day,
one crazy HCian tells me that " Why do I think, that Raghav looks so drop dead
good in this new formal look ?" . Yes, that's what Harshad could do I guess.
More his fans hate or dislike to see any idhar udhar with his hair that covers
his forehead, ( for us the urti zulfein ), the more we feel proud to agree
that, the last 3 months of his stint as Raghav, he had this gelled hair look,
with his no longer checked shirts and white sneakers, but light colored plane
shirts with those formal shoes, he indeed redefines his own standard of
experimenting with his looks onscreen and also making them work. The show had
taken a leap of , audience had to believe that Raghav has moved on in his life,
not only his aims have got newer heights, but also his living, his daily life
activities, and Harshad with this new look of the business man Raghav had
convinced his viewers that yes, Raghav is no more a bachelor mechanic or a
street boy, he was now what his mom called him a " responsible" man who had his
wife, his mom, his sister, his nephew to look after, who had ambitions to give
justice to his brother and sister in law, who had the passion to prove the best
husband to his wife.
There is a say that sometimes looks can kill, and this
line falls in place perfectly in case of Harshad, be it his losing weight for
the same character , or be it the required maturity the character needed
according to that script, Harshad Chopda has only shined and rocked in it.
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