Gaurav Khanna who started off as the ‘chocolate boy’ of television and went on to romance girls with his charming persona on TV will now have a rugged and rustic aura in his new cop avatar on Fireworks Productions’ popular show, CID on Sony Entertainment Television. Gaurav feels blessed to be part of the show which he has watched while growing up. “I am simply awed at the huge number of episodes that CID has aired. It is not an easy task to be on air for 16 long years. I still remember during my school days, we used to watch CID and have a talk about that. Even today, the show is loved by one and all, and it is an amazing feeling to be part of this team.” “When I met B.P. Sir (B.P. Singh), I realized the passion with which he makes the show. We had a talk and I was glad that he liked my look tests. He has planned a very good character for me, and I am very confident of it working,” adds the young lad. Gaurav who has been part of a wide range of shows like Kumkum, Meri Doli Tere Angana, Santaan, Ardhangini, Love Ne Mila Di Jodi, Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam, Dil Se Diya Vachan and Byaah Humari Bahu Ka feels he has romanced a lot on screen, and it is now time for change. “You can say that the chocolate boy has now turned a ‘dark chocolate’ (smiles). Having said this, you cannot take away romance from me, as I can carry it off very well. I was initially apprehensive of taking up a different role, such as CID. But I have grown in confidence. Above all, I was very sure that if I had to get back to TV, it will be with a project which is drastically different from what I have done so far. Guess CID is the best answer to what I desired.” Gaurav also feels that he is lucky to have got the backing of quite a lot of fans. “I adore my fans a lot. Generally, an actor has a huge fan following when he is seen on air. But with me, I have noticed that my fans have stuck to me through thick and thin, even when I am not working. So this comeback of mine in a new avatar should definitely please them.” The actor unlike many, is not a person to socialize freely with fans on twitter and social networking sites. “I personally do not keep in touch with fans on social networking sites. I know many people who love to interact with fans through such mediums. So for a person like me, I feel humbled at the love I get from my fans.” Ask him about his favourite cop over the years of watching CID, and he states, “Well, it is very difficult to name one guy as the entire team does a very good job. However, as school kids, we always used to talk about the deadly trio in ACP Pradhyuman (Shivaji Satam), Abhijeet (Aditya Shrivastava) and Daya (Dayanand Shetty). They used to be very famous amongst the boys, and the same remains even today. I also remember watching the particular episode of CID wherein they got into the Guinness Book of Records. I never thought that I would be joining the team of CID one day (smiles).” Gaurav shares an interesting aspect with us that he noticed while doing a thorough research on the manner in which the CID team goes about its job. “Well, I was browsing about the cases CID has solved, and how every inspector has gone about his work. It was startling to notice that I share my birthday with two other officers in the CID team. Daya (Dayanand Shetty), Hrishikesh (Pandey) and I are born on the same day (11 December).” Finally talking about his new avatar in CID, the actor avers, “Well, I will be seen in a larger than life appearance in CID. Guess I will mostly dress up like how I do in my real life. My look in CID should be liked by many a girls (smiles). I will be seen in a very rustic appearance, and I will be doing quite a lot of action sequences.” Ask Gaurav whether he was not afraid of getting lost in the show amidst big household names like Daya, ACP and Abhijeet and he quickly answers, “See, if I get an opportunity to play cricket in a team which has big names like Sachin, Dravid and co., I will immediately get into the team. You tend to learn a lot when you are with the maestros. Same is the case with CID. It will surely be a learning curve for me, and I am pretty confident of pulling this off.” Gaurav, we wish you all the very best!!