Iti Shree Misra (LUCKNOW TIMES; January 22, 2022)

With his chiseled features and muscular physique, actor and former model Rahul Dev looks like a villainous guy, but is actually a gentle soul with a peaceful and calm mind. Enjoying a successful stint in films in Bollywood and down South, TV and OTT too, Rahul says he’s in a comfortable place in life both professional and personal. In Lucknow recently for a shoot, we caught up with the Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev and Mubarakan actor on his views on the current season of Bigg Boss, how his journey has been as an actor and model and more. mats, viz a viz films, TV and now OTT.

How has the journey been?
I am grateful to be a part of some of the best stories and collaborating with excellent directors such as the late Mukul Anand ji, Santosh Sivan, S S Rajamouli, Kalpana Lajmi, Nikkhil Advani, E Niwas, Anees Bazmi, Vikram Bhatt, Ahmed Khan, Prabhu Dheva, Trivikram Srinivas Rao, Lawrence, Siva, Indra Kumar, Rohit Dhawan, Ken Ghosh and many others in the movie space. The experience has been both enriching and creatively fruitful. In fact, now with OTT I am getting to do a plethora of varied roles with newer directors/writers which tend to challenge me and bring out a completely different side to me. So, gratitude is the only thing which comes to mind.

How was your Bigg Boss experience and what do you have to say of the current occupants of the house?
I’m thankful that with my master’s grace I wasn’t dragged into unnecessary bickering, etc. In fact, I have been one of the most respected people on the largely popular show. Because of my current commitments and time constraints I have been unable to follow the current season but there are two friends of mine who are part of the show.

Are you in favor of celebration indulging in PDA or discussing their love/ private lives on national TV?
It’s entirely an individualistic choice and I would refrain from commenting upon someone’s choice

Do you think OTT has been a game changer in terms of viewership, content and actors’ careers?
It absolutely has been. It’s given a large opportunity to newer talent coming forth be it in the guise of fresher content or newer writers, directors, technicians or actors. It’s also given people an opportunity to reclaim their space for creativity.

You seem happy with the pace you’ve set for your career.
I feel faith lends support to being quietly confident...it comes from my faith in my spiritual master and from honing my skill set regularly. Be it skills as an actor, be it developing a certain physicality for a part or otherwise. Hailing from Delhi from a Punjabi family, I have delivered dialogues in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malyalam too that I feel, is a linguistic skill and a rare gift from above.

You've also a contented man in your personal life. What’s next in it for you?
I have been lucky with love twice. It’s indeed rare that life smiles once at you, for me I feel blessed that I found love again. It’s wonderful to see my son developing, I feel protected and indeed special to have the loving spiritual influence of my beloved master.

What more do we see from you on the big and the small screen this year?
I have a busy lineup this year starting with a series with Sunny Leone directed by Vikram Bhatt. That will be followed by another web show on. I can’t share more because of the NDA. I also have a feature film which is a sequel to 1920, directed by Krishna Bhatt and written by Mahesh Bhatt. These projects are next on the anvil.