Pon-poing with Vikas Bhalla

Click on the pic to view slideshow While I was waiting for Vikas Bhalla, Veer of Uttaran serial, at the newly opened sub joint Quiznos at Pali Naka, Bandra, I took in the décor of the quaint eatery – four tables outside the entrance, a glass door leads to the American chain of eatery and its brightly lit interiors reveal the food counters. A flight of steps lead to the mezzanine which has tables for indoor eating. They serve sandwiches, salads, sammies, pizzas and other bites. On my dinner date with this dashing actor and singer, I wondered if I must congratulate him first for his serial Uttaran on Colors completing a humungous 1000th episode or for his chartbuster song Po Po Pon Pon from Son of Sardaar. He came straight from his interview with an entertainment channel, and he was welcomed with a mixed bouquet of flowers by the franchisee Bhavna Khatri and her husband. If he is missing from Uttaran (he is hospitalised in the show), it is good for him as he is busy promoting his song from the film. A mushroom soup was our first order after which Vikas went with the international favourite sub of Chipotle Chicken and a Veg Hara Bhara for me. While we wait for them to be served, Vikas lets me into how he got to kickstart his playback singing career, “I am thankful to Salman Khan who heard my tracks and immediately put me on to Himesh Reshammiya,” adding, “I had worked with Salman in a part Hollywood venture Marigold and it was really kind of him to give me this chance to debut as playback for him.” The subs arrive and the actor digs into the veggies in the bread – he loves the combo of chicken, cheese, lettuce, onions in chipotle mayo and I am amused at his observation that the American chipotle mayonnaise sounds Maharashtrian! He likes it so much that we call for a bowl of just the filling. His diet has gone for a toss he rues but he is sure to make it up with extra workouts in the gym. I gather his preferred dish is a mutton preparation by his mother which he reveals, “I can have it at all times without tiring.” He wants to know what a Sammy is and Bhavna explains it as a kind of Taco. I enquire after his wife Puneeta and her playschool Windchimes, daughter Sanchi now in eighth standard and son Veer when I bring it to his notice, “You are Veer’s dad playing Veer on television!” On replacing Nandish Sandhu in Uttaran, Vikas opines, “It happens in this industry. Replacements are common.” On playing father to a teenager, he feels it is perfectly alright to explore different characters as an actor and looks forward to more of its successful innings. As a singer he will pursue playback singing so long as he gets good assignments and his dream-come-true moment would be, “The High moment of my life would be when I get to sing for A R Rehman and a duet with the legendary Asha Bhonsle.” Vikas loved the food and ambience of Quiznos and promised to bring his family along as it happens to be located in the vicinity of his residence. Here’s wishing his singing career gets the boost required to put him on the top line of singers.