“An Actor Cannot Jump From Tv To Films The Way He Can Jump From Films To Television” Devroop Murali Sharma

Jyothi Venkatesh

Actor Devroop Sharma is excited about the fact that he is now all set to make his debut not only as an actor but also screenplay writer as well as dialogue writer with the Marathi film Aamhi Befikar directed by  debutant Kavishwar Marathe and starring besides himself in the role of Bhai, also actors like Suyog Gorhe, Mitali Mayekar, Rahul Patil, Swapnil Kale, Akshay Hadke, Rupali Gaykhe and Rupali Jamkar. The film is slated for release on March 8 this year.

How did he bag the offer to not only act in the film but also write the screenplay as well as the dialogues? I ask Devroop as we settle down at his modest apartment in Dadar for this interview. Devroop shoots back, “It was by accident that I bagged the offer to act in the film. It so happened that the producers had asked me to write the screenplay as well as dialogues for a film called Gupit which was struck half way through completion and when they decided to launch another film, automatically they thought of me for the film”.

What is his role in Aamhi Befikar? I ask Devroop. “The film produced by Nagesh Mishra, Antariksha Chaudhari, Kavishwar Marathe and Rohit Chavan is about four carefree boys who dream about making it big. They pull each other’s legs, go against one another and also love each other deeply and crumble and fall. The film, to put it in a nutshell, is based on people who lose a lot in life in order to achieve their dreams and fulfill their desires. The film aims to highlight the youth of today and their ambitions. I play a character role, which has several shades to it and not a negative role. I was approached to write the screenplay and dialogues and it was only when I was ready with the script that the producers asked me to write the screenplay and the dialogues for the film.”

Marathi is Devroop’s mother tongue though his father Murali Sharma is a former distributor who is a Tamilian. “I did my Masters in acting at the Academy of Theatre, Mumbai University in 2009 under the tutelage of Waman Kendre. I got the opportunity to learn under stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Himani Shivpuri, Shabana Azmi, Govind Namdeo and Vijay Kenkre and Shafaat Khan who inspired me a lot to write as well as act.

Devroop feels that it is very easy act but writing is extremely tough. “Writing is a majorly a part of your thoughts and I feel that while writing comes first, acting comes later. I can act   for a while even without words though I feel that as an actor, you have to improvise a lot, because if you do not improvise. You are as good as a robot. Improvisation comes to me very naturally and helps an actor rise above the script too.”

Devroop says that his favorite actors in Marathi are Nana Patekar, Mohan Joshi, Vikram Gokhale, Late Satish Tare and Swwapnil Joshi while Reema Lagoo, Sonali Kulkarni, Ketki Palav etc are his favorite actresses. As far as Bollywood is concerned, his favorite actors are Irrfan Khan, Mohan Joshi, Naseruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal and Ayushman Khurana and Radhika Apte, Vidya Balan, Kalki Koechlin, Rani Mukerjee and Madhuri Dixit among the actresses.  As far as directors are concerned, his wish list includes Mahesh Manjrekar, Dr Jabbar Patel, Nagraj Manjule, Purushottam Berde and Nishikant Sadaphule.

Devroop reiterates that right from his childhood when he was in kinder garden, he was destined to be an actor. “I have done street plays for social causes and was also a part of a Hindi film as a child actor though I do not remember the name of the film. Though I like acting, writing and choreography in equal measure, it is acting which will always be my first love. Though I have directed plays in Hindi as well as Urdu and Marathi, I would also love to try my hands at directing a film in Hindi.

Devroop says that he is not at all keen on taking up offers to act in shows for TV because he feels that one cannot jump from TV to films the way one can jump from films to television, unlike in the past when TV actors like Shah Rukh Khan or for that matter Rajeev Khandelwal or Sushant Singh Rajput could make the transition from TV to films easily. After the release of Aamhi Befikar, Devroop is looking at writing a film based on a story by Monto. “I am also writing the plot for a Hindi film for director Manas Sashidharan Jacob who has also made a short film based on the subject of sensitivity called Aunty Jhuko Na.

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