Meet Nandu Aka Ajay Pal, Akshay Kumar's Co-star In Anti-Smoking Ad And 'The Actor In Every Movie'

Akshay Kumar 's popular anti-smoking advertisement will no longer be shown in cinemas. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has reportedly removed the advertisement, which had been screened before movies for the past six years. Although the reasons for this decision are unclear, it has been replaced with a new anti-tobacco campaign. With this, the actor featured in every movie will no longer be part of the silver screen.

He’s a 40-year-old actor who appears the maximum time on screen in both Bollywood and Hollywood movies. We are talking about Ajay Singh Pal, who plays Nandu.

Who is Nandu aka Ajay Pal

Ajay Pal from Nandu Ad, hails from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh . He began his career as a theatre artist in Bhopal and later appeared in a show on Sony Entertainment Television called Shaheen.

According to reports from Bollywood Hungama, he landed a role in Aamir Khan's 2010 production PEEPLI [Live], a highly acclaimed film. In the movie, he portrayed Bakki, Natha’s neighbour, and shared a few scenes with Omkar Das Manikpuri. Aamir Khan even created a promo featuring one of his scenes, which was well-received at the time, with him delivering the line, "Natha zaroor marega." After PEEPLI [Live], Ajay Pal moved to Mumbai to pursue further opportunities.

CID to Saavdhan India: Nandu acted in many serials and movies

After that, he also secured a role in the daily soap Jamunia on NDTV Imagine, portraying Chhote Mama. He made a cameo appearance in Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo and featured in around 25 episodes of CID. 

His acting credits also include Saavdhan India, Crime Patrol, and Jyoti. Although his role in Ranbir Kapoor ’s Raajneeti was cut, he had the opportunity to work with renowned director Prakash Jha.

How Ajay Pal got the role of Nandu?

But later, he experienced severe leg pain, after which he returned to Bhopal. In 2017, Shruti Mahajan, the casting director of Pad Man, visited the city while planning to shoot in nearby Maheshwar. She held auditions in Bhopal to cast local actors, avoiding the need to bring in talent from Mumbai. He was selected for the role of a cotton merchant and informed that he would be needed for about 10 days. 

For the first 8 days, he appeared as an extra in crowd scenes. On the 9th day, he was given two scenes with Akshay Kumar . After that, he was invited to participate in an anti-smoking advertisement and has since become involved in almost every film. His most recent role was in a Doordarshan serial.

Ajay Singh Pal aka Nandu said that he smokes in real life occasionally over drinks

In the same Bollywood Hungama interview, he was asked if he smokes in real life, and he admitted that he does. He explained, "I smoke very occasionally, only with close friends, over drinks. I never do it in public." He also mentioned that he dislikes filming reels and repeating lines from his famous advertisement.