Gajab Raat memes: Sumit Gahlawat on Bajpayee wave, Hassan MD
Sumit Gahlawat reacts to the meme wave around Tomar and Manoj Bajpayee's Nirvit, shares his prep, and says Hassan MD with Nawazuddin Siddiqui is next.
One week after Gajab Raat arrived on Netflix, Sumit Gahlawat is still sorting through the response. The actor, who plays Tomar to Manoj Bajpayee’s Delhi Police officer Ajay Nirvit, says the wave has moved well beyond routine praise.
Memes and messages: a first for Gahlawat
Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Gahlawat said he felt overwhelmed by the reaction and was still receiving countless messages a week after release. The comments that landed hardest were not about big dramatic beats. Viewers kept noticing moments where Tomar says nothing at all; as he put it, “when people noticed small gestures where I am not even speaking any dialogues, that means a lot to me.”
Memes built around Tomar and Nirvit have become part of that response, and Gahlawat said it is the first time his work has travelled this way. One fan message stayed with him: “For Tomar, his senior Nirvit is his world.”
What made Tomar work
His preparation was built less around the uniform and more around the relationship. Because Bajpayee improvised heavily in scenes, Gahlawat leaned on active listening so his reactions stayed truthful. “Manoj sir improvised a lot, so for that you have to react genuinely on what he is saying in the moment,” he explained.
Gahlawat also constructed a backstory for Tomar, making the senior-junior bond the emotional centre. The result was a chemistry that audiences picked up on without him needing to speak.
Nerves, and a dream co-star
Sharing the frame with Bajpayee was a childhood dream for Gahlawat, who grew up on films such as Satya, Shool, Gangs of Wasseypur and Raajneeti. That admiration brought nerves before the first take, but the fear dissolved quickly. Off camera, Bajpayee was funny and relaxed, and the shoot became a series of days to remember.
What’s next
Before Gajab Raat, Gahlawat worked with producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah on The Kerala Story (2023), Bastar: The Naxal Story (2024) and The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond (2026), where he became the only actor to be repeated from the original. He credits that trust for giving him consistently challenging roles.
His next release is already set: Hassan MD, a show with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Dia Mirza, is expected on JioHotstar in December.
- Gajab Raat: Tomar, opposite Manoj Bajpayee on Netflix.
- The Kerala Story 2: Only actor repeated from the first film.
- Hassan MD: Expected on JioHotstar in December with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Dia Mirza.
For audiences, the moment is a reminder that a supporting character can carry serious social currency—especially when a film gives fans a bond worth memeing.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com
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