His antagonist roles in films might have earned him the moniker of 'bad man', but to his friends in the industry -- and outside -- actor Gulshan Grover remains the man with a "golden heart".
Grover was here on Wednesday for the launch of his biography, "Bad Man", the title borrowed from the moniker only.
"He is a great and strong guy.... He has been beaten out badly so many times to reach where he is today," actor Jackie Shroff said.
"You (Gulshan) are a bad man on the book, but yours heart is a good man's heart," said Shroff, whose sentiment was shared by his other colleagues present at the book launch, including Sunil Shetty and Mahima Chaudhry.
Shetty, who has shared screen with Grover in many films, said not one but at least "400 books" needs to be written to know "the man completely", not just the actor.
In a career spanning 40 years, Grover has acted in over 400 films, including international projects.
"They say 'friends are the family you choose', and I think we chose Gulshan. He is family, he has always been there. Be it good, bad or ugly, he is always always with you.
"He calls himself 'bad man', but I don't think anyone in the industry ever believes that he has got even one little bit of that in him," Shetty added.
The star-studded event also saw notable people from different walks of life, including veteran BJP leader L K Advani, former Supreme Court judge A K Sikri and BCCI acting president C K Khanna.
Sikri, who was also Grover's classmate in the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), recalled the time spent together and said he often told the actor back then that "he can't act".
"My friendship with him goes back to 1971 when we joined SRCC... Both of us were in the same class. We would tell him 'Gulshan, tu acting nahi kar sakta, chhod de' (You can't act, just leave it).
"But look where he has reached now. We all are really proud of him for what all he has achieved in his life. He is the man with the golden heart," Sikri said smilingly.
Grover did not speak much during the event. However, when asked by Mahima Choudhry what he think was the highlight of his life so far, the 63-year-old actor replied without batting an eyelid: "Time spent with my son Sanjay."
In fact, according to Grover, one of the happiest moments in his life was when his son got a plum job in the Metro Goldwyn Mayer's Motion Pictures Group as "director, special projects".
"Bad Man" is written by senior journalist Roshmila Bhattacharya. Published by Penguin India, the book talks about Grover's life journey -- the ups and downs, his films, successes and failures, besides how he has always stayed relevant.
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