Actor and former model Rahul Dev has delivered some noteworthy performances in films like Champion, Omkara, Arsangam, Torbaaz, and Raat Baaki Hai, among others. The actor, who completed more than two decades in the film industry this year, has proved his acting prowess in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi and Odia films. Rahul has some popular television shows to his credit such as playing the role of the demon Arunasur in the mythological TV series Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev. He was also one of the contestants on Bigg Boss 10.
The 54-year-old star was recently seen in Tusshar Kapoor’s crime thriller Maarrich which also featured Naseeruddin Shah, among other stars. In a conversation with News18 Showsha, Rahul Dev shared his experience of working with Tusshar Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah in the film. He also shared his thoughts on why films like RRR, KGF, Bahubali have become a huge rage among the audience. The actor also opened up about stereotyping in films.
Tell us about your experience working with Tusshar Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah in Maarrich.
I have a lot of scenes with Tusshar in the film, because he is playing a cop, and with Naseer Saab, I have two scenes and I was looking forward to working with them in a longer interaction. Nevertheless, this is my first opportunity when I got to work with him. He is a very respected and genuinely path-breaking person. He’s broken the path of regular cliches, and regular tags of movies, way back when I was a child. He is a living legend. I feel he is the Mr Bachchan of art cinema. Though, it’s a cruel thing to say because I think all cinema is art. The main difference between commercial cinema and creative cinema is that critics labelled it that way. But basically, cinema is made for art, but the audiences could differ. For example, OTT has a different audience, the mainstream cinema, and sort of larger-than-life cinema has a different audience. And rightfully so because India has 135 crore people and everyone’s educated in a different way and everyone’s likes and dislikes is different here.
South films like RRR, Bahubali and more have become a huge rage, and you have many Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films to your credit. Why do you think these films are performing better than Bollywood films?
I don’t know about the box office reports of Bollywood films, but if you look at films like Pushpa, Bahubali, RRR and more, you will notice that the storytelling is done in an interesting way, but cinema is larger than life. Also, the films which are currently performing well are not necessarily mainstream films, and another thing is the audience’s interest. Small-budget films like Kantara are also being loved by viewers. The fact is, people will love a film if they like its content. We also have films like Vicky Donor, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Andhadhun and more which were all small-budget movies, but the audiences loved them – and all of these are not exactly larger-than-life films.
A film like Drishyam, even though it has Ajay Devgn – who is a big commercial entity, you can’t say that it’s a heroic Ajay Devgn larger than life film that if the packs a punch, he would make 10 people fly in the air. But people also liked it’s part two. So, the main thing is the story. Whatever you write – a story of a film makes it click. Of course, earlier there was a disadvantage in that some popular faces were needed to run a film, maybe it doesn’t anymore, because of the OTT platforms and exposure, google and the coming together of the globe as one. There are a lot of digital advancements. There is the exposure to foreign films as well. Not only Hollywood but Chinese films, for that matter, European cinema. You can simply be watching interesting content from anywhere in the world, now it isn’t even necessary for a person to know a particular language because these films are dubbed in English and Hindi.
Your thoughts on stereotyping.
I have completed 22 years in the industry. There was stereotyping in the era I came in, we all have to acknowledge it. We have to be thankful also because if it was not for stereotyping, I wouldn’t have been given these opportunities 20 or 22 years later. So, for character artists like Paresh Rawal, people didn’t give him the role of a hero. He has played a heroic role in some films, but it’s not like people have given him the opportunity to sing and dance, like traditional heroes do in films. Speaking of the current scenario, stereotyping isn’t there, and thankfully so. Things are changing now a lot. Now, the good guys are also playing the bad guy’s part just like Saif Ali Khan has done in Omkara and will be doing in Adipurush. For example, there are still people who will meet me and say ‘Sir aap was toh nahi ho jaise screen par lagte ho (You are not how your character is in films)’. I tell them that it is so because I’m acting, and being an actor I’ll perform whatever is written in the script.
Tell us about your sabbatical from films, and your Bigg Boss 10 journey.
My wife Rina died in 2009 after battling cancer. We were together for almost 18 years and were married for 11 of these. I had taken a break from films to raise my son. On the fourth day after my wife’s death, I was shooting for film called Blue as I was one of the main antagonists. I found it very challenging to go on working, especially after leaving my child alone. My wife’s sister suggested it won’t be possible for me to take care of my child and my work together. So, I’d taken 5 years’ break. I’d shifted base to Delhi, from where I belong, and I thought I would be able to help my son Siddanth a little more. I used to feel so nervous to go to his parent-teacher meetings as I would see mostly mothers. Rarely I would meet one guy but his wife would be there. At that time, I would feel a sense of deep insecurity. I would feel, where are the men?
I also tried to do business and started a fitness brand, but it did not work out for me. It was my second venture; I went out to do six. After my son went to England to study, I decided now I can go back to Mumbai and work on (my) acting career. Aur phir aap sochiye, itna kaam karne ke baad bhi Bigg Boss (Despite having done so much work, I had to do Bigg Boss). I was a participant in Bigg Boss 10 because there was just no work for me. I won’t blame anyone for it, because in our line, markets change pretty fast. And four-and-a-half years is a long time.
If given a chance, will you enter Bigg Boss again?
No, I won’t. In real life, I’m not that Dishoom Dishoom guy, and I am more inclined towards acting. I don’t want to go to a reality show and do fights. If given a chance I won’t necessarily go into the house as a contestant but in a different role.
