BENGALURU: It’s been over a decade since city-based actor and educationist Viivek Mashru quit the world of acting, bidding farewell to the role of Inspector Vivek in the popular Hindi-language television series CID. Yet the role hasn’t left him.
Recently, a user posted a picture of young Mashru on social media, fondly reminiscing about the latter’s time at the series, and revealed that Mashru was currently serving as a professor at the city’s CMR University.
“It’s been 11 years since I’ve left the show. Sometimes, people send in their kindness through a tweet or a message. And I usually acknowledge it. I just did that with this as well. But I hadn’t even imagined the Twitter storm that followed,” shares Mashru, now the director of the Department of Common Core Curriculum (DCCC) at CMR University.
The 40-year-old was inspired to take up acting after watching the 1989 Jackie Chan film Miracles at Symphony theatre (Shankar Nag theatre). “I spent close to six years shooting for CID. And we used to spend around 16 to 18 hours on sets. So there are a lot of memories. The fact that I won the all-India contest CID Operation Talaash, was something I didn’t imagine in my wildest dreams. My maternal grandparents used to religiously watch CID. But by the time this news came in, they had passed on. Still, I dedicated the victory to them,” he shares.
Originally aired in ’98, CID became a household name throughout its 20 years on screen. Mashru’s character–Inspector Vivek–in particular, was well-received by fans. Yet, the then 29-year-old decided to quit acting in 2012. Throughout that period, Mashru got to travel extensively, meet interesting people, and learned a lot about life and himself. Thereby, he ‘outgrew his old self’ and took a break to undertake more travel. “I did a lot of solo road trips in Maharashtra and Gujarat. I also did some solo backpacking in the Himalayas,” he shares.
During that time, he was presented with an opportunity to plan a cousin’s wedding. That experience made him enroll for a postgraduate programme in international business. Going back to school after nearly 10 years was a daunting experience, but Mashru says his work experience helped him navigate the difficulties. “After post-graduation, I had a few offers to work abroad, but I wanted to live close to my parents and chose to remain in Bangalore,” he says. He soon started working with NGOs that taught life skills to government children, finding fulfillment in the role.
After a few more transitions and another post-graduate degree, Mashru landed his current role. He attributes the experience and learning during his time at CID to his continued quest for self-improvement. “A very important lesson I learned is that the show goes on. No one is indispensable. I did almost 500 episodes in my career.
But I always knew that it was going to come to an end eventually. It has helped me stay grounded and have a balanced perspective,” he says, adding that he’s been receiving acting offers since going viral again. “After the Twitter storm, people did reach out to me. But I don’t intend to go back. I’m happy being a common man, a householder away from the limelight,” he concludes.
Former TV actor Viivek Mashru, known for his role in the CID series, recently went viral on social media after a user revealed his present occupation as a professor in the city. CE catches up with Mashru who relives the buzz of his screen days