Gippy Grewal reveals he backed out of a web series: Makers insisted I do kissing scenes...

Carry On Jatta 3, which released in the theatres on June 29, scripted history at the box office to become the highest-grossing Indian Punjabi film with a reported collection of Rs 95.13 crore in 18 days. A milestone moment for the Punjabi film industry, the Gippy Grewal and Sonam Bajwa starrer is the third film in the blockbuster hit franchise. 

Ahead of the film's release, lead actor Gippy Grewal spoke to Republic Digital about the Punjabi film industry and staying away from the Hindi film industry. Grewal reflected on his unsuccessful Bollywood stint and revealed that he turned down a web series because he was asked to perform intimate scenes that didn't seem like a "script requirement". 
 
3 things you need to know

- In 18 days, Gippy Grewal starrer Carry On Jatta 3 has raked in Rs 42.05 crore India nett.
- He made his acting debut with the 2010 movie Mel Karade Rabba.
- Gippy made his Bollywood debut in 2015 with the film Second Hand Husband.

Gippy Grewal reflects on his unsuccessful Bollywood stint

In a career spanning over two decades, Grewal juggled many roles -- an actor, singer, director and producer. He works primarily in the Punjabi film industry, but the actor's quest for challenges led him to take up his first Bollywood film in 2015. In Second Hand Husband, Grewal starred alongside Tina Ahuja and Dharmendra. The movie tanked at the box office translating to his Hindi film career disarray. In 2017, Gippy tried his luck in Hindi films yet again and starred alongside Farhan Akhtar and Diana Penty in Lucknow Central helmed by Ranjit Tiwari. The film turned out to be a box-office disaster resulting in Gippy's involuntary retirement from the industry. 

(Posters of Second Hand Husband and Lucknow Central featuring Gippy Grewal | Image: Instagram/Twitter)

Speaking about his short-lived tryst with the Hindi film industry, Gippy told Republic Digital, "That film (Second Hand Husband) did not work. I did another film after that, and the team chosen for it was great. But that too did not work. Whichever industry you may consider, when the box office numbers aren't there, people naturally assume that you can't do the job." 

Punjabi audience will not appreciate my minor roles: Gippy Grewal

Grewal insisted that over the years several Hindi film offers came his way but he has largely stayed away from them due to the length of the roles offered to him. The actor-singer said, "I am a big star for my Punjabi audience. They love me a lot and they are the ones who have got me here. Say, if I were to do a small role in a Hindi film and they happen to not like it?"

Gippy Grewal shares his discomfort in doing explicit scenes 

Further, Grewal said, "I did get some projects (HIndi films). There was a Hindi web series I really liked. I kept going back and forth with them a lot. It had 3-4 scenes, however, which I did not want to do. I told them my Punjabi audience will not appreciate seeing me in scenes like this."

Grewal said that he stayed away from the project due to the "kissing scenes" in the script that he felt was for the "sake of it". He said that the makers failed to convince him why the scene was important to the script. "They insisted on the requirement of these scenes which I asked them to explain. The thing is, they (makers) feel if we include segments like kissing scenes, they add a different kind of value (to the script). I kept asking them to explain the relevance of the scenes in terms of the story." 

(Gippy Grewal's Carry On Jatta 3 is the highest-earning Indian Punjabi film | Image: Gippy Grewal/Instagram)

On the director's insistence on doing intimate scenes and his eventually backing out of the project, he added, "They insisted on having the scenes just for the sake of it. I said I would not be able to do them. Everything else (for the series) was confirmed but the director seemed insistent on it (the scenes). So I asked the director to go ahead with somebody else." "There are a lot of films and projects that we don't go ahead with for these reasons. And we are right in our place," Grewal concluded.

Incidentally...

Grewal's Carry On Jatta 3 co-star Sonam Bajwa had shared similar concerns in an interview with a YouTube channel. Sonam revealed that she was scared to do kissing scenes and eventually backed out of the Bollywood project which would've marked her debut in the industry. She said she was apprehensive if her family would understand and wasn't sure if the Punjabi audience, who she credits for her stardom, would appreciate her doing them.

Gippy and Sonam have worked together in several films including Best of Luck, Manje Bistre, Carry On Jatta 2 and Carry On Jatta 3.