BENGALURU: An ‘accidental actor’, Rahul Dev Shetty has been a familiar face on web series and films recently. His latest is a lead role in Amazon MiniTV’s Love Adhura, a romantic-thriller mini series starring Karan Kundrra and Erica Fernandes.
Having worked in films like 12th Fail, Shetty says he is glad to be associated with different forms of entertainment. “Web series as a medium is quite popular. Love Adhura has been getting good reviews and has been a hit with the younger generation,” says Shetty, adding that he is grateful for the faith that the team behind the show placed in him and hopes for a season 2.
Shetty plays a corrupt cop who discovers undercover activities at a tea manufacturing unit in the series. Although happy for the characters he is getting to play, Shetty feels his last few characters have had a similar vibe. “Probably the teams find my mannerisms and my demeanour fit for a certain kind of role.
Once you start getting recognised by the roles that people have seen you, it sticks to you for quite some time,” says Shetty. Nevertheless, the actor is understanding of the choices from a production’s point of view. “There is a lot of money involved in a project, so they don’t want to deviate too much from it,” he adds.
Wishing that his roles had longer screen time than what it got, Shetty feels it is difficult for an outsider to break into the system. “I’ve had a lot of auditions because of 12th Fail. Cracking an audition has never been easy. It’s mostly involves a lot of waiting,” shares Shetty, adding, “Unfortunately, there have been a few times when projects and roles sound interesting, only to look completely different when they come to the table.
Having said that it’s the quality of work that I’d like to go for rather than the screen time of the role. I will take up the work that gets me to work with a good director and keep my acting skills sharpened.” As he gets comfortable in front of camera, Shetty hopes one day to break the stereotype to be able to try to different characters.