I am looking forward to taking back some rosogolla for my son, Laksshya, from Kolkata,” said Tusshar as we caught up with the actor who was recently in town to attend an event. In a freewheeling chat, he spoke about his journey of parenthood, how he deals with trolls and the possibility of Golmaal 5. Excerpts:

A fresh lockdown has been imposed in several parts of Maharashtra. After having experienced the national lockdown last year, how do you feel about this?

I don’t want to go back to the lockdown phase. However, I didn’t really sulk too much about it last year. My son kept me busy. I have always been used to the idea of working from home. We actors can do a lot of things from home – reading scripts, editing and so on. Even video calls help in getting a lot of work done. I believe in making the most of what life throws at me.

You took a bold decision by embracing Laksshya as a single parent. What kind of impact did parenthood have on you?
Laksshya has made my life more fulfilling. Embracing parenthood has turned me into a better human being and made me a more organised person. I have a more mature approach to life after becoming a father. Having said that, parenting can’t be taken lightly. You have to enjoy the process and I’m enjoying every moment of it.

There is a general perception that in our country it’s not easy to live as a single parent. How has your experience been?

Really? I don’t believe so. Everybody around me has been very positive. We are considered to be very conservative, but the Indian mindset is actually very very liberal. I was very honest and clear about the way I brought Laksshya into my life. He is my biological son and I went through IVF and surrogacy. So, as long as you are honest about it, people are very warm and welcoming. It is only when there are unanswered questions that people start gossiping. If there is nothing to hide and you are ready to do something your way, I would say India is the place to be.

Bollywood has been boiling with the nepotism debate for as long as we can remember. Is it difficult to deal with this constant bickering?

I don’t even deal with it, I just ignore it. There will be all kinds of people in the world and they will have issues with everything. You just have to laugh it off. Each of these people has the right to have a voice of their own. I won’t say that there isn’t any noise. There is a lot of noise. We just don’t need to jump into the noise and be a part of it. You can look at it as entertainment and move on. Life doesn’t change, you know. You still have to get up and do things that you would have done without the noise as well. So, go on and focus on what you have to do.

How do you manage to ignore these people and the noise despite being a part of the industry?

Maybe because I have so much to do with my son, my work, I have no time to focus on these things. I am not in my 20s anymore when you analyse and over analyse and then brood over things that really don’t matter. There are certain things that you need to feel pressured about and these are not among those. Yes I am Jeetendra’s son. But if I have got an opportunity in this profession, worked hard and sustained it, then I should be happy. Aapko khudka astitwa malum hona chahiye. Otherwise, you’ll be shaken up by both the good and the bad. That is my mantra.
Don’t you think social media has amplified these noises to a great extent?

It is about your choice, how you would want to use it. If you want to get too sucked into it, you can. Or if you want to use it as a tool to market yourself, you can do that too. The choice is yours. You can communicate with your fans, clear their misconceptions when there are debates on nepotism and

sharing of ideas about our privileges. We can tell them that we all work hard and we all are in the same boat. We all have our ups and downs. The more you get affected by social media, the more your trolls will get vindicated. Jo aapka mood kharab karna chahte hai, unko fodder mil jaata hai. They are not happy and take to social media to vent. If you give them attention, they win. I get sadistic pleasure in ignoring them. Unko unki aag mein jal jaane do (laughs).

Tell us about your upcoming projects.

There is a film called Maarich that we have almost finished. We have not decided if we would want to release it in theatres or on OTT. The scenario is changing every day and based on that, the distributors would take a call. Unlocking is still an ongoing process and a few films are slated to hit the theatres. We would like to take a call by May. There are talks with Priyan sir (Priyadarshan) and Satishji (Kaushik). We haven’t signed for anything but let’s see what happens.

And what about Golmaal 5?

(Laughs) Main bhi sun raha hoon ke Golmaal 5 ki planning chal rahi hai. If at all it happens, it will not happen before next year (laughs).