You (KK) are like a rare diamond - Dayanand Chandrashekhar Shetty

You may remember the time the silent comedy SAB TV’s Gutur Gu 2 (Fireworks Productions) weaved in a Tom and Jerry sequence. Of course they didn’t use cartoons for portrayal but actor Dayanand Chandrashekhar Shetty of CID fame played Tom and K K Goswami played Jerry. It was evident that this sequence had left an everlasting impression on KK’s mind which is why he called up to interview Dayanand while he was the guest editor of Tellychakkar.com. KK complimented him for being a loving actor who not only cares for his co-stars but technicians too. “They treat you like God,” he told Daya. The actor modestly acknowledged it, “That surely is a big compliment. I am not God but an insaan, so it is but natural that I have insaaniyat. If you do not have that you are an animal. Nowadays there is insaniyat in animals too. I am simply a helpful person.” KK replied, “You have made me emotional. I have tears in my eyes. You went to Uttarakhand to help people. Many people may earn heaps of money but do not do any social work. You are so different.” Our guest editor then asked Dayanand about his family. “My wife is a housewife. I have one daughter. She is almost twelve years old.” The interview then turned to the low profile that Dayanand purposely maintains. “I am not a very social person. I hardly party. I want to be grounded. I do not care much for publicity; rather let my work speak for itself. I like to live in isolation. I wear sandals and go out. Fans love me. What more can I ask for? All the CID artistes are simple and do not crave for limelight.” KK then asked him what he would have been if he hadn’t been an actor. “I would have been a businessman. I was into the hotel business before that. I have a hotel in Shirdi and Mumbai. Currently salaried employees manage my hotels. Maybe I would have been a national level sportsman too had I not been an actor.” When KK praised his good looks he chipped in with humility, “I am tall and somewhat hefty but don’t have great looks. A person is handsome only if he has inner beauty.” Regarding his experience with CID he said, “It is a journey of almost 17 years. A great chunk of my life has been spent doing this serial. The show has been the number one show on Sony TV and will continue to be so in the thriller format. I thank the fans for loving our show. It is great to meet our fans who so adore us.” “What are you hobbies?” asked KK. “I like driving, going to new places, watching old Hindi films and international movies, listening to songs, humming songs and I even make co-artistes sing.” On their Tom and Jerry banter on Gutur Gu KK asked, “As Tom you held your ears and stood in front of a tiny actor like me. What was the experience like?” The actor replied, “Comedy is tough to execute. Executing a silent comedy is all the more difficult. I tried my best to do a decent job. I was a bit apprehensive on whether I was doing justice. I had a good time though it was quite tiring too.” When KK asked how it was to work with Gutur Gu’s director Prabal Baruah he replied, “I have worked with him in CID. Our brain waves match. He had explained the character to me very well. It was of a hurly burly man who has a fascination for bikes. In the second season I was a brahmachari who remains as far away from women as possible.” On a concluding note KK asked him how it was to work with him, “You are a big star and celebrity. You hail from a middle class background and keep a low profile. You perform very well and are popular. You are like a rare diamond. It is great to know you and perform with you. Very few actors are as talented like you.”