Deven Bhojani on resuming shoot during Unlock: It has become a lonely experience now, I miss the chai sessions on a set

Actor Deven Bhojani says he and his best friend Paresh Ganatra, who is also part of the show, used to always hang out and have lunch together. But now, they eat in separate cabins.

Social distancing is the new way of life in this Covid world and it’s is the same story on a film or a TV set. While it’s imperative for everyone’s safety, actor Deven Bhojani, who has resumed the shooting his comedy series, points the flip side to it.

Actor Deven Bhojani has resumed the shoot of his comedy series, Bhakharwadi

“Ab dooriyan aa gayi hai. We all stay inside our vans most of the time. It’s a lonely experience now. My best friend Paresh (Ganatra) is also part of the show and we used to always hang out and have lunch together. But now, we eat in separate cabins. Even when we sit outside, we maintain a distance of five feet between the chairs while doing all the gossip,” shares Bhojani.

The actor further adds how the “chai sessions” with the whole unit, a great bonding exercise, has taken a hit. “I miss them. Now everyone gets food and chai from their own homes. Ab toh chai aati bhi nahi hai set pe,” the 50-year-old shares.

Bhojani admits it’ll take him some more time “to come to terms with the current work situation and accept this new normal”.

Despite major adjustments that have been made on set while shooting, the actor found the first couple of days very tough. “Earlier we used to shoot with 12 to 14 characters in one scene and now it has come down to 4 to 5 characters. The script has also been tweaked accordingly,” he tells us.

However, irrespective of the restrictions, Bhojani is “very happy” to be back on set after 100 days. But he reveals that he did utilise the break to grow his moustache which his character dons on the show and he no longer has to use a fake one, which would have been very difficult to sanitise.

“Now I only use a whitener on my moustache. I also no longer wear a wig and just use colours to make it my natural hair grey,” he quips, adding “I’m being very cautious. I don’t allow anyone in my make up room. I’ve learnt a few things how to wear my elaborate costume. I serve my own food and wash the boxes after eating. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

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