Parmish Verma was worried about shaving his beard for Kanneda due to his image, says friends didn't recognise him

Parmish Verma plays a Punjabi rapper living in Canada in the 90s in JioHotstar's new crime drama, Kanneda.

Punjabi singer-actor Parmish Verma made his Hindi-language OTT debut recently with JioHotstar's new show, Kanneda. But even before he showcased his acting chops, Parmish's clean-shaven look surprised the audience. The actor tells us it surprised him and his close ones, too.

Parmish Verma on shaving his bear

Parmish Verma shaved off his signature beard for his debut web series, Kanneda.

Parmish has always had a thick beard ever since he has been a public figure. Ask him if there was any hesitation about shaving it all off for a role, and he replies, "Initially, there was, obviously. There is a sense of security and familiarity about your look. But I looked at the confidence of the makers of the show. When I was asked to shave my beard, I had a conversation with the production. I told them, 'Millions of people follow me and love me for my looks. I have an on-screen image, and this is what sells'. They just told me to look at the bigger world outside my followers, people who don't know me or that image. They said, 'We auditioned you because we liked your work and not because of the followers you have'."

But the actor was pleasantly surprised by the reaction to the look. Recalling one incident, he says, "In fact, a friend of mine didn't recognise me in the trailer. I sent him the trailer when it came out, but he didn't react. He thought I had produced something. A few days later, he saw the trailer during the India-Pakistan match (in the Champions Trophy last month), and exclaimed, 'Yaar ye trailer to tera hai (This is your trailer)'. That made me believe that I look like Nimma (his character) and not Parmish."

Kanneda stars Parmish, alongside Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub, Ranvir Shorey, Aadar Malik, and Jasmin Bajwa. The series premiered on JioHotstar on March 22.