‘Lockdown mein mai almost Dilruba ban chuka hun’: Rakesh Bedi on his character from Shrimaan Shrimati

Shriman Shrimati actor Rakesh Bedi speaks about the return of the hit show to DD amid lockdown.

“Lockdown mein, main almost Dilruba ban chuka hun, khali main bol normal raha hun,” laughs Rakesh Bedi, as he shares his happiness over Shrimaan Shrimati’s return to television during coronavirus lockdown.

Rakesh Bedi in a still from Shrimaan Shrimati.

During lockdown, a normal day for Bedi involves helping around the house. “My wife does the jhaadu, and I do the pocha and once in a while I make the bed, too. My two daughters also do a little bit of cooking, under my wife’s supervision,” shares the actor about his routine now.

He believes that the timing couldn’t be better for Shrimaan and Shrimati’s rerun to telecast on TV. “It will add a lot of favour and humour in everybody’s life, as everyone is so sombre right now. Humein aaj 15-20 din ho gaye hai, paper main, news main, humare ghar main, apas main, hum ek hi topic pe baat kiye ja rahe hain aur woh bhi darr ke,” says Bedi referring to the fearful environment of the pandemic.

But between all this, he says the show has brought laughter to his house, too. “Jab yeh serial shuru hua TV par, meri wife baith ke dekh rahi thi aur main dusre kamre main tha. I immediately ran to my bedroom when I heard my wife laughing aloud. I asked her ‘Why are you laughing so much?’ She said: ‘Maine dekha hi nahi tha yeh wala episode aapka’.”

Mention to him that the countrywide lockdown has ensured that husband and wives are together 24X7, and Bedi laughs adding, “Chat karne ka mauka nahi mil raha husbands ko, kyunki wife bilkul samne hoti hai! Phone haath mein pakadte hain toh darr jaate hain ki biwi phone le legi.”

He is, however, glad that the comedy show is proving to be a stress buster in such times, and adds, “I feel yeh international cult serial hai, and I am proud to be part of it.”