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Vashi2Panvel.com: Navi Mumbai: Aug 7:Gurpreet Singh is a great looker, no doubt about it. And he has a role that many would give their eye teeth for. That of Sujal in Kaahin to Hoga. He walked into the role after the earlier Sujal , heartthrob Rajeev Khandelwal walked out. But it hasn’t been a cakewalk. Rajeev’s fans are still clamouring for him and judging by the way his director reacts to Gurpreet's performances on the sets, it seems that they are finding it tough to forget Rajeev too. Walk into the sets of Kaahin To Hoga and you will catch Gurpreet Singh, popularly known as the ‘new Sujal’, warning Kaashish that he will never let her tie the knot with Swayam. Kaashish pushes him aside and runs towards the door. Cut. The director yells that Gurpreet is not reacting fast enough. After a few more cuts, he gets it right though. And that’s where he scores.

No attitude, he knows he has a tough job ahead but the biggest plus is that he is no hurry. He feels that with time, the audience, his co-stars will grow to love the second Sujal. Meanwhile, ever since the director has increased the romance quotient in the serial, Gurpreet has begun to score.

As Kaashish gets ready for her solo shot, Gurpreet takes time for a candid interview. He bares his heart about his new show, how it feels to get into the shoes of Rajeev Khandelwal, his co-stars, his likes and dislikes, his girlfriend, the Sujal effect, and lots more…

Stepping into Rajeev Khandelwal’s shoes for the dream role of Sujal would perturbe any budding actor, but not Gurpreet. He was always attracted to the glamour world. “I didn’t think I would get into acting, or modelling for that matter. But I always participated in school stage shows, elocution, speeches, I would always be there. I never went to college. I did a bachelors course in commerce, by correspondence. This was because of the modelling assignments that kept coming up. But for men, there are no assignments all throughout the year. There is a lull most of the time. So I came to Mumbai.”

The comparisons made between Rajeev and Gurpreet are only evident. His co-stars too haven’t been very kind to him, when it came to choosing between the former Sujal and him. They have openly said that Rajeev was much better than Gurpreet. But Gurpreet is unfazed. “I have just come. And I strongly believe that if I don’t hurt anyone, eventually they will take a liking to me, for sure. That has always been my funda in life. Don’t be the cause for others' troubles. The other issues will take care of themselves.”

“And I can’t really understand what all the comparison is all about. Every actor puts an impression of his personality into his character. Rajeev and I are totally different people. Om Puri can never be an Amitabh no matter how excellent an actor he is.” Point taken.

Gurpreet has also signed 2 films, interestingly before landing on television. The role he essays in one of his films, opposite Reshmi Ghosh is strikingly similar to the one in KTH. “It’s Sujal all the way. It’s the story of a man who has lost his memory and is out to discover his past. There was a scene in the movie where I had to take a hair pin from Reshmi and open a car. A few days ago, I shot a similar scene with Aamna (Kashish).”

A Delhi boy, Gurpreet now lives in 7 Bungalows in a flat he shares with two friends. . “I have an elder sister who is married, a younger brother and sister as well. My parents and siblings reside in Delhi. I shifted base to Mumbai 3 years ago, after which things really started happening for me.”

Having a modelling background, and moreover having modelled for VIP frenchie, this hunk is not in two minds when he is quizzed about modelling in the nude. “If it is aesthetically done, I am game for it. The only condition is that it should not look vulgar.
When you see a picture of a young lady in a village, clad in a saree, sans a blouse, you tend to look only at the naivety, and innocence. Your mind does not play any dirty games. I wouldn’t think it’s vulgar even if my girlfriend was doing the role.”

And does Gurpreet have a girlfriend? It would appear so. The day we interviewed him, an afternoon tabloid had him and his girlfriend on Page 1, photographed at a party thrown by Aamna Sharif. He doesn’t know about the story. He calls for the paper, looks shocked for a minute, then laughs and admits that he and Kanishka are seeing each other.

“She is a very sweet girl, and very caring too”, he said when asked what attracted him to her. Then he lets out a little secret, after a lot of urging though. “When I got my nose job done, Kanishka was at my bedside for three days.” Nose job? Yep, the same one that Ekta insisted on so that he looked a little like Rajeev Khandelwal. Now, if he only has the fan following that Rajeev has. "Hey", he laughs, "Give me time. It'll happen...."

Sujata Reddy