It has been nine years since he moved to Mumbai, but he has still not gotten over his love for Delhi. That’s expected. For actor Dev Sharma has his home in Delhi’s Dwarka where his parents live.
“I fly down here at least twice a month, for reasons as quirky as mom having prepared my favourite dish or a relative has visited home,” he smiles.
Mumbai is his karmabhoomi but Delhi is home, and will always have that special place in his heart.
Waiting with bated breath for the release of his fourth film, Aa Bhi Jao Piya, a movie shot in Jharkhand on the importance of plants, Dev looks back at his nine years in Bollywood with much satisfaction.
He was one of the leads in his first film Yaariyan, which after he bagged got him Heropanti and Muzzafarnagar. In Aa Bhi Jao Piya, he plays Kaushal, the lead.
Acting and cricket are his two loves, which he indulged in all through his school and college days. But only after graduating, he realised that he wanted to pursue acting as a full-time vocation.
It had to be, for he got it in his genes – his maternal grandfather RB Sharma was director with the National School of Drama in Delhi, and growing up in the National Capital he participated in almost every NSD workshop.
“Even when my mom, a teacher with Kendriya Vidyalaya, was transferred out of Delhi, we would visit the city during summer vacations when my nanaji would enroll me for NSD theatre workshops.”
Dev has fond memories of spending his childhood days with noted actors like Smita Patil, Raj and Nadira Babbar, Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah – they were his nanaji’s students and would often come home.
After completing his BCom, he moved to Mumbai, as advised by his nanaji. “He told me to start in Bollywood as enrolling for an NSD course would mean investing five years (three years in course and two in repertory),” he says. In Mumbai, Sharma did a number of plays and street theatre.
He then got a chance to work as an AD in Krrish 3, wherein he assisted Rakesh Roshan and learnt a lot about the art and craft of filmmaking, watching seniors like Priyanka Chopra, Hrithik Roshan, Kangana Ranaut.
“This came through Eshaan, Hrithik’s younger cousin brother (Rajesh Roshan’s son), with whom I had developed a great friendship at the institute. I have lots of friends in Bollywood. It is important to have friends and nurture friendships, but Himanshu my co-actor from Yaariyan is my best buddy.
We are growing together so share emotions.”
Talking about his first break in Yaariyan, he says, “I was at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, when I got a call for the audition. Some of my friends said that it was for smaller side role so I ignored it.
But they called again, and I spoke to dad who advised me to audition. I went but gave my audition half-heartedly as to my understanding it was for a small role.”
But unknown to him Yaariyan Director Divya Khosla Kumar was present, and was looking for one of the leads! Dev was called again. And the rest, as they say, is history. He signed a three film contract with T Series.
PostYaariyan’s release in 2014, Dev got noticed. He bagged his next project Heropanti and then Muzzafarnagar. “After Heropanti, I did a couple of more films, unfortunately, they weren’t released. But I learnt a lot from each one. When your passion becomes your profession, you don’t feel the stress, you don’t get tired,” he reasons.
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