Dev debuted as an actor playing Karthik, the selfish, possessive and chauvinistic boyfriend of Nazriya in 2014’s Vaayai Moodi Pesavum (VMP). Fast forwarding nine years, his recent famous role Kartik from Sweet Kaaram Coffee (SKC) carries a lot of similarities to his Karthik from VMP.
Although nearly a decade has passed by, Dev feels he is typecast in such roles. “I wouldn’t have taken up the role if not for the journey he goes through,” he shares, “Karthik from SKC mends his ways and apologises to Nivi. While I have been stereotyped as the toxic partner in several projects, I thought for once it would be nice to play a flawed character who repents and changes.”
Karthik being a cricketer in the series is a cherry on top for Dev as he is a former district-level cricketer. Dev says, “Although the series did not feature me playing the sport, the idea of playing a cricketer got me all excited.” However, the actor expected to have a longer screen time in the series. “When I read the script, I thought I would have more screen space than what we have today. Nevertheless, I don’t regret my decision. Though SKC is tagged as a women-centric drama, the story does not exist without its male characters,” says Dev who also adds that he was never once insecure about playing a peripheral character in the series.
However, Dev wishes that he got a scene to justify why Karthik decides to patch up with Nivi (Santhy Balachandran). “Even Rajaratinam and Bala smoke and speak their hearts out. I felt it would have been nicer if there were a sequence showing Karthik realising the importance of Nivi, before the apology,” says the actor, who hopes that the second season would dive deeper into the character’s psyche.
Dev previously shared screen space with Madhoo in Vaayai Moodi Pesavum and interestingly, she plays the mother of his lady love in both the tales. “Both times, my character meets her during a family get-together,” says Dev recollecting the coincidence.
Despite getting the opportunity to work with veterans like Lakshmi and Madhoo, the actor has some regrets. “Unfortunately, my biggest regret in this series was that I didn’t have much time to spend and learn from Lakshmi and Madhoo. I hardly had one scene together with them, and even our schedules were different.”
Having been in the industry for 10 years now, the actor is well aware that his development has been quite unhurried. “Yes, I am still an up-and-coming actor,” says Dev, who has a promising lineup of projects. “I am currently curating long-format content for my production house Mad Boy Productions. I have an interesting role in Bejoy Nambiar’s Por. I have also finished a series under SPB Charan’s production, and I also have another film helmed by debutant Ram,” he shares.
Like every performer, Dev too has a dream role. “I wish to play Virat Kohli in his biopic,” he states reiterating his love for cricket. “There is no harm in dreaming. Playing a cricketer throughout a feature film would be fantastic.”