Rahul Dev believes that both cinema and audiences have evolved in the last few years and therefore there are more content-based films in the last few years than in the past. “Cinema has taken a huge leap in the last few years and for that, the audience is responsible. Recently, I was part of a very meaningful series titled The Test Case in which I played a Naib Subedar (Junior Commissioned Officer). The series was about a woman commander. I played her mentor and it was quite a progressive series,” he says.
The actor has been balancing between OTT and films. He is getting to work with the new wave of content creators and actors on the OTT platform. He says that not just web but films too are making unique content. “I admire Vicky Kaushal because he offers something new and different in each of his projects. Likewise, we get to see different kinds of films, which are also commercially successful. Vicky Donor was unconventional but commercially successful too. Along with that, you have the Rohit Shetty school of films, which are larger-than-life entertainment and they are making money too,” Rahul points out.
He adds that the new age heroes like Vicky, Ayushmann (Khurrana) and Rajkummar (Rao) aren’t glamorous-looking like Salman Khan. “They are much more ordinary-looking heroes. But you can relate to their looks. Their films are organically larger than life,” he says.
The actor recently starred in a comedy drama web series – Who’s Your Daddy? The series, which is streaming on AltBalaji and Zee5, also features Harsh Beniwal and Nikhil Bhambri. Rahul plays an army officer in the series. He says that he found it funny that the casting director Kunal wanted him to have a look at the script. “I am over 150 films old and normally I have played grey, antagonist kind of characters. I quite liked the script because the situations were quite funny and I got to do something different,” he informs.
Rahul, who played a Punjabi character in the series, says that his Punjabi is quite good. “I had kept the dialogues colloquial so that people can understand and connect with them,” he says, adding that the series will connect with everyone.
He will be next seen in the second season of Poison, in which he plays the role of a mentor. The series stars Aftab Shivdasani. “Just like the first season, the second one is also thrilling. I play an honest Muslim man who will help the protagonist (played by Aftab). It’s a very interesting series. Vishal Pandya, who has assisted Vikram Bhatt, is directing this series. While working with Vikram in a couple of his projects, I had also worked with Vishal and I realised that he has grown a lot. It was interesting being directed by him,” says the actor.
Rahul is most excited about a historical project which will release later this year. Without divulging much, he says that it’s the biggest project on the OTT platform. “The audience will get transported to a different era. The makers will make an official announcement. Till then, I won’t be able to speak,” he says.
The actor says that he is trying not to repeat himself in every project. “God is being kind because I am getting different opportunities. I was away from films for some time and when I got back, I got several offers. An actor can’t sit at home; he has to get those chances. Luckily, I am getting that,” he says.
He adds that there was a time when he had to take what was being offered to him. “I couldn’t be so selective back then. Because I started my career with Champion, I was only offered negative roles. But now I am being offered different kinds of roles. You want that as an actor,” says Rahul who will be next seen in Torbaaz, which also stars Sanjay Dut.
He says that it’s not a typical commercial film. “It’s a beautiful story about a doctor, a Talibani leader and a child. It’s not clichéd but a real film, directed by Girish Malik. He had previously directed Jal, which was an Oscar entry from India and a brilliant film. The film also starred my brother Mukul Dev,” Rahul says before signing off.
