Suraj Punjabi is seen as Prateek Goyal in Mann Sundar. The show is aired on Dangal TV. The actor shares about the show, his character, team, his career and more.
“I think in today’s day and age, we tend to judge people based on their looks which is very superficial and wrong. It’s the nature and character of a person that should matter. ‘Mann Sundar’ as a title tells you exactly that. You must have heard the phrase, “dikhawe pe mat jao, apni akal lagao” but I would like to edit that and say that “sirf akal hi nahi, dil lagake toh dekho”,” he says.
Suraj’s character Prateek is Nihar’s (Shivam Khajuria) older brother in the show. “I totally relate to my character in the show as I’m a lot like Prateek in real life, who is an introvert and matured older son and brother. I support every member of the family but I usually tend to agree with my father in most of the serious and important matters. I’ll speak when I’m spoken to and it takes a lot to get me angry. But when I’m furious, I bring the house down,” he adds.
The actor also expresses satisfaction with his association with Dangal TV. “It’s nothing short of magical. We didn’t begin this show thinking that we will become no.1, our goal has always been to give our best as a team and make “Mann Sundar” a household name on television. They are very easy to work with and give us the backing we need. Hopefully the show will continue to be the no.1 show on Dangal tv. I wish sabka Mann sundar ho,”.
He praises his colleagues and shares that the entire unit is a close knit work family. “I get along with everyone on set. It’s such a positive atmosphere to work in and my co-stars are very supportive and motivating. Sometimes it gets difficult to emote or perform but when you get to learn so much from other experienced co-actors and your brilliant director who guides you along the way, you really enjoy every scene that you do. In terms of who I get along with the most, I’m usually the one who gets my mom’s delicious home cooked meals for other co-actors and the director too that makes them very excited to see me daily (laughs) but since I share a room with Nihar, I get along very well with him and my reel wife Ritu. I also love and miss Asmi, she plays my daughter Priya on the show,” he says.
Sharing his learning so far from the industry and the competition, “Don’t compare yourself to any actor in your project, as it will bring your morale down. Just try to do your best and be better than the previous day. Stop over-thinking. Show business is harsh at times but you need to be very strong mentally and have a life off-camera too. It’s important to maintain that balance. Neither should your life off-camera affect your performance on-camera and vice versa. Once the director says “rolling, camera, action” my brain switches off from Suraj Punjabi that instant and turns into the character I’m hired to portray on screen,” he states.
Suraj is happy that this is his first ever acting gig, Mann Sundar is doing well. He calls it his ‘landmark launch’. “Fan love and audience appreciation is the best and most honest validation of your performance. It’s the best motivation for any actor because it’s honest and truthful,” he ends.
Watch Mann Sundar, at 8:30 pm, Monday to Saturday, on Dangal TV
