He’s an actor who appears the maximum time on screen throughout the year. We are talking about Ajay Singh Pal, who plays Nandu, in the famous anti-smoking ad that also features Akshay Kumar. He made some interesting remarks when he interacted recently with Mayank Shekhar of Mid-Day.
Ajay Singh Pal revealed that women recognize him instantly more than men. The reason why the latter doesn't recognize him easily, he said that's because "men are always stuck in zindagi ke kashmakash". He further said that people also get confused seeing him and they wonder if he's Nandu. And if indeed he is, why is he in Bhopal.
In the same interview, he was asked whether he smokes in real life. Interestingly, he replied that he does. He said, "(I smoke) Very, very occasionally, with close friends, over jaam. I will never do it in public." The other interesting bit revealed by Ajay is that he hates shooting reels and being made to repeat his lines from the iconic ad.
In 2020, Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Ajay Singh Pal and the interview travelled far and wide. In this interview, he revealed that he had played a small role in Pad Man (2018), which helped him bag the ad. At that time, he had said, “Out of 100, 20-25 people on average realize that I am Nandu. Most people however feel that Nandu must be a big star staying in Mumbai and that he can’t be seen in Bhopal! A few remark that I look like that guy from the anti-smoking ad! Haan, bacche bade sharp hote hai; bacche pehchaan lete hai mujhe!”
He also stated that he had worked in films like PEEPLI [Live] (2010), Durgamati (2020) and in shows like ‘Shaheen’, ‘Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo’, ‘CID’, ‘Saavdhan India’, ‘Crime Patrol’, ‘Jyoti’ etc.
Ajay Singh Pal also said in the Bollywood Hungama interview, “Shruti Mahajan, the casting director of Pad Man, had come to Bhopal…to hire local actors for the film, so that they can avoid getting actors from Mumbai. I was told that I would be required for around 10 days. For 8 days, they cast me as an extra in crowd scenes. Then on the 9th day, they gave me two scenes with Akshay Kumar. Initially, they didn’t trust my acting abilities and hence, mera close (shot) banaya nahi un logon ne!Sirf Akshay ka close banaya. Later, they realized that I could do it. That’s when they gave me a close in the next shot. They were so happy that they took my close of the earlier shot as well! Suddenly, their attitude towards me changed and they began to address me as ‘Sir’! 15 days later, they called to say that they wanted me to shoot an ad with Akshay Kumar as well. I agreed and that’s how I became a part of this advertisement.”
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