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'Gullak': Anant Joshi talks about replacing Vaibhav Gupta
Anant V Joshi is the new Annu Mishra

'Gullak': Anant Joshi talks about replacing Vaibhav Gupta

Jun 06, 2026
04:17 pm

What's the story

The fifth season of SonyLIV's popular show Gullak has finally premiered, continuing the story of the middle-class Mishra family. One major change in this new season is the recasting of Annu Mishra, played by Vaibhav Raj Gupta for four seasons. Now, Anant V Joshi has taken over this role. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he spoke about this transition and how he prepared for it.

Role preparation

The transition process

Joshi, who has previously starred in 12th Fail and Maamla Legal Hai, said that the transition wasn't easy. "It didn't happen on the first day," he admitted. "Actually, you know, it was this whole process we had before even walking onto the set." He added that he had several readings and discussions with the makers before finalizing this big decision.

Character evolution

Not copying Vaibhav Gupta, says Joshi

Joshi also revealed that he didn't want to copy Gupta. "My intention was never to mimic somebody or to play someone the way someone else has played the character," he explained. "For Season 5, Annu has a very different trajectory; he is now stepping out, being in the 'wild wild world,' exploring it, but whenever he is at home, I made sure that the people who love Annu the way he was...I wanted to retain that."

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Personal resonance

A homecoming for Joshi

Joshi, who comes from a similar family background, said that joining the show felt like a homecoming. "This used to be a very dining room conversation, like Gullak," he shared. "Having a call to play a character which is so important for this show, I think it was great excitement rather than being nervous."

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Ensemble dynamics

Harsh Mayar on the pressure of recasting

Harsh Mayar, who plays Annu's younger brother Aman, spoke about the pressure of this transition. "In this season, I would like to say there was a lot of pressure on us as actors because we all had to give 200%, because this is a very big change," he admitted. He also highlighted the difference in working with Gupta and Joshi, saying they had more structured discussions with Joshi compared to spontaneous improvisation with Gupta.

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