Anant Joshi admits backlash over replacing Vaibhav Raj Gupta as Gullak’s Annu Bhaiya affected him: ‘Made me question my choice’

Anant V Joshi replaced Vaibhav Raj Gupta as Annu bhaiya in season 5th of beloved web show Gullak.

This year, fans saw two of their beloved characters being replaced. Mirzapur made the transition from the web series to the big screen with Mirzapur: The Movie, with Jitendra Kumar stepping into the role of Bablu Pandit, originally played by Vikrant Massey. Similarly, the fifth season of the popular web show Gullak saw Anant V Joshi replace Vaibhav Raj Gupta as the beloved character Annu Bhaiya.

'There was a little bit of nervousness'

Anant V Joshi spoke about replacing Vaibhav Raj Gupta in Gullak.

Playing a well-established character can be tricky, as it can invite scrutiny from the character's ardent fans. Anant, in a recent interaction, admitted that the backlash he faced when the Gullak Season 5 trailer was released affected him.

Speaking to NDTV, he said, "More than pressure, it was nervousness. There was a bit of pressure because there were doubts. After all, Vaibhav did it so well. The show is so loved. It has such a massive fan base, which I only realised after Season 5 came out. But I was very excited to bring my own lived experiences to the character. So, yeah, I was excited to play the character. But there was a little bit of nervousness about how the audience was going to respond."

'Backlash really affected me'

He said, "When the trailer came out, there was backlash. It really affected me. It made me question my choice. Did I do it right? Because people were absolutely missing their favourite character. But when the show came out and the way the reactions completely flipped, that was an even higher high. Because when you are not expecting it at all, you are already prepared that maybe that was not probably a good choice. You have stepped onto a really big show. But out of expectation, when that kind of love comes through, I think that was the biggest or the most rewarding feeling."

About Gullak

Created by Shreyansh Pandey and produced by The Viral Fever, Gullak revolves around the Mishra family and their everyday lives. The series follows parents Santosh (Jameel Khan) and Shanti Mishra (Geetanjali Kulkarni) and their sons Anand, fondly known as Annu, and Aman (Harsh Mayar). The show is known for its slice-of-life storytelling, family dynamics and humour rooted in everyday middle-class experiences.

Gullak Season 5 premiered on SonyLIV on June 5, 2026.