Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah's Dr Haathi aka Nirmal Soni on working with Dilip Joshi: He is a master of improvisations and an amazing actor

Nirmal Soni has been a renowned name in the industry with his numerous characters in films and TV shows. In a recent podcast, Nirmal got candid about his journey into showbiz, how Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah became a game changer for him and his bond with co-actor Dilip Joshi. Here's what Nirmal had to share:

When I played Dholu in Hero, he was one of the most iconic characters in the 90s. After Shaktimaan, Hero was the only superhero series back then for the 90s kids. And yes, that wasn't my first show as I had done a couple of films and ads before that but people started recognizing me with that show.

It just as a lot of people think Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is my first show, that isn't true but fans have loved my work in the show and that gave me immense popularity so people think I haven't done any other work. However, I have been a part of the Industry for a very long time now and have done numerous shows and films in my tenure. People forget your previous struggles and only remember your hit shows.

I am the only actor in my family. We are goldsmiths and that has been our ancestral business. We deal in gold and by the caste I am 'Parajia Soni'. So yes, my father had taught me our work at quite a young age. I was barely 16-17 when my father used to take me to learn what we needed to do as goldsmiths and how our business ran. I even worked with them but then I felt that I wanted to take a different path and pursue acting.

Definitely, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has been a turning point for me. I had done films like Shootout At Lokhandwala before that. I did get recognition for my work. But the popularity I received with Taarak Mehta was beyond the film. People recognize me as Dr Haathi and the character has become synonymous with my name now. It is impossible to get similar popularity through any other projects.

I share a great bond with all my co-actors. Working with Dilip Bhai is an incredible experience. There is a lot to learn from him, even by observing his acting in the scenes is like a huge teaching. Dilip Bhai takes care of and helps with a lot of suggestions for my acting. He makes sure that all of us share the limelight. He often suggests that the lines that suit my character should be given to me. He is a master of improvisations, there have been many instances where his suggestions for the scene have turned it into picture-perfect and also polished our skills.

He is fabulous with his work, there have been times we crack up laughing when we are reading the scenes. Dilip Bhai is aware of which character would suit which scene or line, there isn't any competition on who is getting more screen time. He is well aware of how much of his presence and dialogue are important for the scenes, that is how he is an amazing actor.

Dr Haathi's character is the same but then there are different stories and situations. So it gets easier to experiment with the same character. There has been an instance where I was called by someone for a medical emergency as they thought Dr Haathi would be a doctor in reality. I had to tell them, I am not a doctor in reality.