Yogesh Tripathi, small screen's favourite cop Happu, speaks with MUSBA HASHMI about his new show on &TV

The quirky and cute daroga who have managed to make his way into our hearts and changed our perception of a stereotypical police officer is ready to introduce us to his unseen family. His round belly, unique typical moustache, oil slicked hair and the funny Bundelkhandi accent is what made him a household name.

This unique character — Happu was so loved and appreciated by the audience that the makers decided to come up with a new show — Happu Ki Ultan Paltan which will revolve around the life of Happu Singh, his pregnant wife, who is not  pregnant anymore and his naun naun thaiyya bachchey.

The show is all set to mark its arrival on the small screen from March 4, 2019 (Monday) on &TV. The show will showcase the tug of war between Happu, his wife Rajesh, his mother Katori Amma and his nine troublesome children.

Himani Shivpuri will be essaying the role of Katori Amma while Rajesh will be played by Kamna Pathak. This corrupt cop will be seen swinging between his family, where he is nothing more than just a bheegi billi.

Yogesh Tripathi who essays Happu says that he never thought that his character will become so popular among the audience.

“When I gave the auditions for the role I never thought that this character will become so popular. I knew that the character is funny and will be loved by the audience but I didn’t expect so much positive response from our audience,” he tells you.

Talking about how the character evolved he says: “When I first began shooting for the character I would play the role very fast. But the makers told me that I have to be very slow since Happu is a lazy character. That’s when the word ‘hayee daiyya’ came. It was not because he is hurt or something it is just a representation of his laziness. That he is so lazy ki ussey uthney-bethney mein bhi dard hota hai aalas ki vajah se. Then, gradually all the other minute details, be it the oil slicked hair or the paan stained lips were added to the character. So I can say that Happu has evolved over time and it has become better.”

But it wa snot easy to get into the skin of the character because of the nature of the role. “I faced certain challenges in playing Happu because to bring in that body language, get the right posture and to put that potbelly again and again is a task. Though I don’t have to struggle much with the language and accent since it resembles mine but to put that effort to make Happu vibrant and funny that he keeps appealing to the masses is a challenge but since we are receiving immense love from our audience so iss ko karney mein maza aata hai,” he tells you adding that his different characters in FIR have also helped him to become a better performer and evolve as an artist and to carry off any comic role fluently and flawlessly.

Interestingly, there are a few things that Tripathi and likes and hates about Happu. “What I like the most in Happu is uska paan khana aur gori mem ko galliyon mein dekhna. The thing that I dislike is uske scooter mein kabhi tel nahin hota hai, vo hamesha ussey ghaseetta rehta hai to uss scooter ko ghaseetne mein badi takleef hoti hai mujhey,” Tripathi says with a laugh.

Sanjay Kohli and Benaifer Kohli who are the producers of the show Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain and Happu Ki Ultan Paltan tell you that it was the popularity of the character that urged them to make a separate show based on Happu’s life.

“We came up with the concept of Happu Ki Ultan Paltan because he is a very popular character in Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain. He is one of the regular characters that you see in your everyday life. So we came up with the whole family around him where he is hassled in work and then comes home to get tangled in the family hassles,” Benaifer tells you.

 Kohli said that the reason why Happu has gained so much popularity is because the audience is able to connect with him. “We find such characters in our daily life. Also all the characters of the show will resemble the real life characters in some way or the other,” he tells you.