Exclusive: Did you know Karan Singh Grover drank boiled cold drinks on the sets of Dill Mill Gayye?

Dill Mill Gayye completed 12 years on August 20 and here are a few never known facts revealed by Pankit Thakker. The actor played the role of Dr. Atul Joshi, Dr. Armaan’s (Karan Singh Grover) best friend. In an exclusive conversation with TimesofIndia.com, Pankit relived his days from Dill Mill Gayye and revealed moments not known before. Happy reading! By: Sukarna Mondal

Karan Singh Grover, who made girls swoon over his character Dr. Armaan Gupta, couldn’t start his day without black coffee. Pankit decided to play a prank on him. Revealing the prank, Pankit says, “Karan used to have 3-4 cups of black coffee daily. One day I got cold drinks, which resemble black coffee and told the production guy to boil it. Karan saw the cup in my hand and asked if it is black coffee. I nodded yes and handed over the cup. He drank it!” Photo: Instagram

Pankit shares a moment when he used to shoot with Ayaz Khan (Dr. Shubhankar Rai), Mayank Anand (Dr. Rahul) and Karan (Dr. Armaan). “When four of us used to be in the same frame, we just couldn’t act. We used to crack silly jokes, which were not a part of the script. Even the camera person used to laugh and he couldn’t capture our scenes. Our director lost it and said, ‘I am not going to shoot if you guys keep laughing like this’,” revealed Pankit. Photo: Instagram

Dr. Atul Joshi’s character was initially paired up with Dr. Sapna played by Muskaan Mihani. But Pankit reveals, “My chemistry with Muskaan was mostly coming out friendly. Hence, I discussed with the creative directors if they can change the track. My chemistry with Sunaina Gulia, who played the role of Dr. Anjali was crackling. Our basketball sequences were really appreciated. The team told me they will experiment with our plots and if it works they will continue. And our scenes were a hit and that’s how Dr. Atul and Dr. Anjali’s love track came into play.” Photo: Instagram

Dr. Riddhima Gupta’s character was played by three actresses in the show – Shilpa Anand, Riddhima Gupta and Jennifer Winget. Pankit recalls, “All of them had different personalities. Shilpa was the first Riddhima and our bond together was very strong. Then came Sukirti and Dr. Riddhima’s went through certain changes. Actually, their on-screen characters were written as per their personalities. All the characters were sketched like that.” Photo: Instagram

Here’s an interesting bit you didn’t know. To refresh your memory, Dr. Atul’s character was an eco-friendly person and in the show he used to talk to plants. Pankit reveals, “I used to get many messages on Facebook and female fans used to visit our sets. All of them requested to name my plants according to their names. So I had no names for my plants, but after the fan requests, I started calling them by my fans’ names.” Photo: Instagram

Mohnish Bahl’s character Dr. Shashank Gupta in Dill Mill Gaye was the most loved and respected character. Pankit shared, “He was the only person who followed the protocols. Hum sab toh masti karte rehte the sets pe. We were very young and he used share words of wisdom with us. We used to shoot for 30 days and he used to shoot for 7-8 days. He is a thorough professional.” Photo: Instagram

“Drashti and I are Gujaratis and we were very particular about our tea. We used to go to the kitchen and direct the cook how to make our tea. At 5pm we used to have two cups of tea. Chai and Maggi used to be a daily routine with the girls and Karan used to have 20 boiled eggs every day,” said Pankit. Photo: Instagram

Remember Dr. Atul Joshi playing Holi wearing a raincoat? Pankit explains how the idea was born, “Holi sequences used to be grand on the sets of Dill Mill Gayye and it was famous for these sequences. We used to look forward to Holi episodes every year. I never played Holi or apply colours due to my allergy. But on the director’s insistence, I had to take part in the scene. And that’s when we came up with the idea of playing Holi wearing a raincoat. So three years you all Dr. Atul Joshi in a raincoat during Holi and it also justified my eco-friendly character,” he says. Photo: Instagram

Once, the director was falling short of 2 mins sequence to complete an episode during the holi sequence. Pankit recalls how they covered up. He says, “The writers didn’t know what to do. They came up to Karan and me and told us to do anything and save the day. Even we couldn’t come up with anything. So we headed to the sets and told them to roll the camera. Then came a scene with Dr. Rahul, Dr. Armaan and me. Armaan was telling to imagine Rahul as Anjali and apply colour on him. That was totally an impromptu shot.” Photo: Instagram