Actor Dev, who hails from Chennai, is best known for his performance in Vellai Pookal. He made his debut in Tamil/ Malayalam bilingual Vaayai Moodi Pesavum / Samsaram Arogyathinu Hanikaram, directed by Balaji Mohan, starring alongside Dulquer Salman and Nazriya Nazim. He also starred in the critically acclaimed film Oru Naal Koothu.
His latest OTT release on Amazon Prime -- Sweet Kaaram Coffee -- starring alongside Lakshmi, Madhoo, Santhy Balachandran, and Bala Suresh, is getting positive reviews from all quarters. The actor who will next be seen next in Bijoy Nambiar’s Por (Tamil) starring Arjun Das, Adhigaram and Pechi, spoke to Indulge about his journey so far and his future plans.
OTT is uncharted territory for you. How do you see this transition?
A welcome transition; it’s a medium where I want to stay associated. As an actor you want to stay close to the audience, always. OTT offers you that without any compromise on quality in storytelling. Theatrical business has changed post covid. Audience has become choosy about what they watch and unless you have an exceptional content or visual spectacle, they don’t prefer to make the effort to go to theatres. In such a scenario, OTT offers the opportunity for artistes to reach their audience. YouTube can do that as well but can’t offer quality and scale.
Sweet Karam Coffee is getting positive reviews. Tell us about your role and what preparations you did for it?
I play Karthik, a highly rated state cricketer, who is in a relationship with Nivi, played by Santhy. He really loves Nivi but Karthik has his flaws. He wants Nivi to quit cricket post marriage because he feels that’s the only way his family will accept her. In the show, there is an arc for my character, which is what makes it interesting.
Since I was a cricketer before taking up acting, it was easy to relate to the characters. From there, it was about understanding the director’s vision and bringing it to life. The workshop, reading sessions and detailed conversations with all the directors helped in constructing a vision. All this was done well before the shoot, and it was all about following it on sets. I loved the process.
It is a women-oriented series. Where you apprehensive about taking it up?
Definitely not! What if a woman headlines it? In a lot of households, women are the real heroes. Why can’t they do the same on screen? For me, all that matters is a good story, great role, and a fabulous team. SKC had it.
How was it working with senior actors like Lakshmi and Madhoo?
The only disappointment for me with respect to Sweet Kaaram Coffee is not having enough scenes with Lakshmi and Madhoo ma’am. Lakshmi ma’am in Jeans and Madhoo in Roja are among my favourite characters. In fact, Roja was the first film I have ever watched in my life and, as a kid. And I clearly had a special liking for Madhoo ma’am. She is so pretty. I am hoping that in SKC Season 2 I get to have more scenes with them. Fingers crossed.
Tell us about your role in Por? What made you take it up?
Bejoy Nambiar. I’ve always loved Bejoy’s filmmaking style. Through Sweet Kaaram Coffee, I got to work with him and totally loved the experience. He chiseled my performance, I must admit. I shot with him for about a week for Sweet Kaaram Coffee. And on the last day of the shoot, he told me he has a role for me in his next film, the filming of which was six to eight months away, but he had already decided to cast me. I felt that was wonderful of him to trust me and I just wanted to repay the trust. The good experience in SKC made it easy.
Por has an ensemble cast, and my role is a catalytic one. I play a final year college student and the situations surrounding my character and my actions lead to the most important segment of the film. It was another project with very interesting experiences.
What are the other movies in the pipeline?
I primarily work in Tamil. I have Por and another untitled Tamil film in post production. Apart from this, I am curating couple of scripts with an idea of starring in them. Post Sweet Kaaram Coffee, I am hoping I can work with the best of creative minds across languages, especially Malayalam and Hindi. May be one with Raj and DK? I love their works.
— manuvipin@newindianexpress.com