Rahul Dev is among that league of celebrities from the ’90s known for their fit body. The model-turnedactor who has acted in not just in Hindi cinema but also in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam movies, is now consolidating his position in the OTT space with his roles in web series. The latest release is season three of Kunal Khemu-starrer Abhay, and Rahul plays a key role in it. Though the show has received a mixed response, Rahul has a noticeable presence. He plays Avtar, a hardened criminal, who is a man of few words. “Abhay offered me something different. It’s a subtle character with a deep conviction who thinks he is doing a service to mankind. He has a backstory unlike other antagonists who never really have one. It’s usually only the hero who has a backstory. This drew me to the show,” explains Rahul.
The 53-year-old actor who has acted in over 130 movies in his twodecade career is slowly diversifying with his roles in series such as Anamika and the popular period drama The Empire. But this is the first time he is working with Ken Ghosh, the director of Abhay. “When I was a model, he was already a director, so it felt good to work with a senior. I didn’t have to be called sir by my director,” says the actor with a laugh. He adds, “Technically, Ken is very sharp. It’s strange that it has taken so long for me to work with him. On the sets, he is a serious guy, but off the sets, he is really funny and has a great sense of humour. It feels like I know two different people.”
Films today are quite different from the commercial flicks of the ’90s. Rahul, who has worked with the likes of Mohanlal, SS Rajamouli, Prabhas and NTR Jr, says he welcomes the change in subjects being explored. He believes that the kind of films being made today were considered art house cinema in the previous decades. “Many times I played roles where I had to just tear my shirt and show off my body. I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t an idiot. I am a qualified engineer. But at the end of the day, I used to do such roles because I was part of larger-than-life movies. Usually a guy with super model looks gets typecast and that’s what happened to me and many other models. Now I feel the industry is very kind. Stories are better today, and there are more takers for such films,” says the actor who will be seen next in the sequel to 1920 and in a Sanjay Gupta film.
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