I love to multi-task: Anuj Saxena

The struggle started in 2001, when Deepak Dobriyal landed in Mumbai and 10 years later, circumstances seem to be under control.

The phone keeps ringing — not just with offers, but also because of the new entry in his life on August 3 — his son, Siddharth. “It’s wonderful right now but it took a long time and there were phases of frustration in between,” he says, adding, “I get so many offers that I have to refuse most.” The turning point, Deepak feels, was his role in Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkara.

“It was a pathbreaking role for me but the offers that followed were all stereotypical. Such was the case that I chose not to work for a year after Omkara — I didn’t want to get typecast,” he recollects.  

The actor’s last release, Ram Gopal Varma’s Not A Love Story, which is inspired from the infamous Neeraj Grover murder case of 2008, sees him play the angered lover.

“It was very tough to play a character that exists in reality. Moreover, the incident is quite scary but I did no research and relied entirely on my imagination and the pieces of information Ramu kept giving me,” Deepak says. And this is the first time that Deepak accepted a role even before reading the script. “It’s only because of Ramu.

I feel he’s one of the few directors in the industry who casts someone based on talent and has encouraged many strugglers like me. In fact, for three years, I’ve been doing my rounds of his office, sending pictures and waiting to be called,” he informs. 
Deepak, who’s worked with different directors, feels it’s important to let an actor be.

“It’s my job to read my director’s mind and the way he has visualised the character. Once I’ve done that, I need my freedom of portrayal,” he explains.

He has given some strong performances in Omkara, Shaurya or even, the recent Tanu Weds Manu and Deepak is content with the way the industry is warming up to him.

He’s satisfied as a character actor and thinks of it differently. “Isn’t every role eventually a character? Even the biggest of stars want to play memorable characters but it’s a different story that their stardom tags along,” he signs off.