Ab toh Bada Mangal in Lucknow is like a feast: Actor Pranay Dixit

The recent visit of TV actor Pranay Dixit to Lucknow after one and a half year was no less than an icing on the top of a cake. Pranay, who’s been seen in the show 'Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain', was in his hometown for his younger brother’s marriage. And since he happened to be here for one of the Bada Mangals, Pranay took the opportunity to go stall hopping to have the bhandara ka khana."It's been nearly two years since I had the bhandare ka khana. When I was living in Lucknow, on all Bada Mangals I used to go to Hanuman Setu temple for darshan and then during the day my friends, cousins and I, we used to go pandal hopping. Hum khud toh khate hi thay, ghar walon ke liye bhi poori-sabzi le jate thay," said Pranav.
Pranav went to three pandals and had kachor-aloo at one, sharbat at the second and poori-sabzi at the third stall. "What amazes me now is that there are so many pandals set up. Till a few years ago, there used to be just a few pandals serving sharbat or poori-sabzi. Ab toh there’s so much variety in the prasad also. Kahin idli mil rahi hai toh kahin chowmein toh kahin ice cream. Ab toh Bada Mangal in Lucknow is a like a feast. It really feels nice to tell people everywhere about this unique concept wherein Lucknowites serve everyone with so much of passion," he adds.
Pranay Dixit (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)
Having done Bhabhiji for almost two years now, Pranay says he is enjoying the whole experience of doing comedy. "Bhabhiji has made me a household name. I started doing Bhabhiji with very small character roles but soon the makers increased the length of my role after my acting was liked by the viewers and we got good ratings. It’s been two years now and I am really happy with my acting journey. In fact, I am also doing 'Jijaji Chhat Per Hain', simultaneously. All thanks to the popularity of the show and my acting in different roles, my remuneration too has increased on the show," says Pranay, adding, "My Lucknow visit too has been memorable this time. All thanks to Bhabhiji, people now recognise me everywhere. I have had several fan moments during this trip, especially with kids. Plus, an NGO also made me their ambassador because I was a part of the film 'Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans'. Life has changed completely post Bhabhiji. Now thankfully whenever I go for auditions, especially of serials, I don’t have to introduce myself. Though for movies the journey is still a long one as I still give my introduction for them. I have been selected for two films but things are still in the pipeline."
- Viti Goel and Saad Abbasi