He might make you stop in your tracks with that evil glint in his eyes. But the crafty and conniving guy has got style, as a matter of fact oodles of it. He rides horses and choppers with a smirk, looks dapper from all angles and breaks into gravity-defying stunts. Dev Singh Gill is one actor for whom this cool-and-creepy mix has really worked and the handsome baddie is entering Mollywood through B Unnikrishnan’s ‘Mr Fraud’ starring Mohanlal in the lead. “‘Mr Fraud’ was an exciting and overwhelming trip. I am keeping my fingers crossed for its release,” says the actor who is known for his villainous avatars in ‘Magadheera’ and ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’.
The actor shakes off any queries about his character in the heist thriller, but says it’s unique in more ways than one. “My character in ‘Mr Fraud’ cannot be branded as a routine villain. He is not the standard antihero, but something you haven’t seen in Malayalam industry so far,” he says. Dev, who has been part of colossal projects in Telugu and Hindi, says he is equally awed by Mollywood. “Malayalam is an industry with high standards and here I got an opportunity to work with one of the best actors in Indian cinema. Despite being a legend Lal sir behaves like an ordinary man on sets. He is an actor with a great sense of humour and I was really touched by his attitude towards other cast and crew members.”
Dev says he wanted to get a hang of Malayalam industry before landing in Kerala for the shoot. “Lal sir is an incredible actor and superstar. When you are pitched opposite someone of his stature, a lot is expected from you. I watched a couple of his films including the recent hit ‘Drishyam’ and ‘Keerthichakra’. Then I did my share of research and worked on my looks and body languages to live up to that level,” he says. The actor says he was quite comfortable while the film was getting canned and never felt like an outsider. “There is another reason for that. My mother is from Kerala and I can understand bits of Malayalam,” he laughs.
The model-turned-actor says while signing films he doesn’t look for big banners alone. “I want to work with creative people who can offer me some solid stuff. Unni sir is a total perfectionist and I am really proud to be part of his cast. As an actor I got to work with A-listers from all the industries, be it Rajamouli or Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra”
‘Magadheera’ and ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ have been two career-defining films for him and the actor says both involved a lot of physical grooming. “Rajamouli is the man who created the antihero in me. For ‘Magadheera’ I had to put on 10 kgs to look the brawny warrior,” he says. The actor was also noted for his role as a ruthless athlete in ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’. “In BMB Farhan was playing a Punjabi so well and my challenge was to look every inch an arrogant Pak athlete. There was so much pressure on me as the character was really important,” says the actor who is a fitness freak in real life. “I hit the gym without a break and go for a proper kind of diet. I am super health conscious because I do all my stunts myself,” he says.
He feels the era of dark and dirty villains is over as new-age films feature smart and suave antiheroes. “They no more want the ugly, untidy and stupid villain, but someone on a par with heroes,” he says. He has done maximum number of films in Telugu and Dev says south directors have a special knack for creating matchless villains. “They present me in a very unique way. When offered the right kind of job language can hardly make a barrier,” says the actor who is busy with two south and one Bollywood projects. Ask the handsome actor why he keeps on doing negative roles and he says, “Today cinema is not all about hero or villain, it’s more about actors and I really enjoy living these characters.”