ACTOR, ANCHOR, CONTENT CREATOR GUNJAN UTREJA IS ROCKING THE OTT!

Jyothi Venkatesh

Gunjan Utreja wooed us with his acting chops, made us ROFL with his chat shows and tugged at our heartstrings with his recently released music video. Is there anything this man can't do? While the whole entertainment industry was shut due to the nationwide lockdown, he came up with a game show to raise funds for the Covid-19 victims. Titled "Chalk & Cheese", it is India's first celebrity game show to be created under lockdown.Talking about his show, he said, "I was tough to create a format which was interactive, engaging and entertaining. But I had great time creating the show.While shooting we realised that we have create a good show; but its response has been more than overwhelming. The success of the show is humbling and inspires me to create more engaging content.

Gunjan also hosted "Bubble Baat", the first of its kind of celebrity chat show in a bathroom. The show won MTV Digital Award for the Best Chat Show. He also hosts "Not Just Supper Stars", a quirky chat show where he gets in a conversation with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. Gunjan has always surprised his audience with his choice of projects. Gunjan says “I love to explore different genres of entertainment. And rediscovering one is what an artist always craves for. Yes I have taken risks with the choices of my projects. I am greatful that I got opportunities to showcase my versatility as an artist.

Not many know that Gunjan is a trained actor and did his masters in Dramatics before entering the industry. He played the lead role of Abhay Kapoor in super hit series Madhubala on Colors TV. He featured in two webseries last year and was recently seen in a music video titled "Judaai". Talking about the same, he said, "Last year, I did two webseries which were a spice of life kinda genre. In fact, recently I did a music video titled Judaai. Nobody had expected me to portray a dramatic character. But I surprised them with my skills, and that is what is exciting.

What makes me happy is seeing the comments and compliments you get for your hard work, and ultimately appreciation is what matters to an artist."Judaai", also featured debutant Aaira Dwivedi, and has already crossed twenty-five million views on social media. It's the highest viewed non-film song ever on T-Series pop-chartbusters Facebook page. Gunjan was shooting for two new web series, whose shooting got postponed due to the lockdown. However, he is hopeful that once the shooting resumes, with the new guidelines, the shows will be able to release by the end of this year.