In an exclusive conversation with ETimes, Deepraj candidly spoke about three decades of acting journey, his association with Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya, his biggest kick on television and so on.
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You have always said that becoming an actor was your childhood dream. How did a small boy from Allahabad get besotted with films?
In class 3, we used to fill in the blanks. In that, I had written that I want to become an actor. My mother was also a teacher in the same school and my class teacher showed it to her and said, ‘Dekho aapke bete ne kya likh diya.’ She was very happy though. She thought her boy was just 8 years old and he might forget about it in the race of life. She used to remind me after a few days, a month, two months, six months, a year and ask, ‘What do you want to become?’ And I was always saying actor, actor, actor. I was consumed by this thought. So when I passed 12th class, I went to Chandigarh for my graduation since there was a zero session in Allahabad at that time. I did my graduation in DAV college and there for the first time I got in touch with theater. I met many people there and I got enrolled into the department of Indian theater in Punjab University. I wanted to go to NSD but I couldn’t make it. It was the Irrfan Khan batch.
After spending two years, I came to Mumbai and joined Nadira Babbar’s theatre group Ekjute. I worked with her for 5-7 years. Then gradually I started doing television, then the first satellite channel came where I did a daily soap called Tara opposite Ratna Pathak. I came here in 1987, and from the first year itself I started working. I came here to become an actor and that’s what I did. I am satisfied with my 35-year-long acting journey since there hasn’t been a year that I have not done any serial or film. God did not let me go back from Mumbai. I would have certainly gone back to Allahabad if I did not get work for 2-4 years. But I survived only because of my acting.
Is there something that you always wanted to do in films but it didn’t work out for you?
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Every person wants to do main roles, meaty roles. Though I have appeared in many small roles, people have appreciated my performances and that has been a great achievement. So whatever roles I got, I performed them with respect and full passion. I did not lose focus. I did whatever it takes for my survival, sometimes for financial reasons. Recently when people appreciated my role of Maharana Pratap in the Taj series, I felt that what I am doing is right and I felt happy.
Can we say that everything in your career went smoothly and you didn’t have to struggle in the industry?
It was smooth, but I would say that God did not let me go. But yes, there was a struggle period when I was not getting work and I used to feel let’s go back to Allahabad. And every time I booked the ticket, people offered me work and I cancelled my reservation every time. It is not so easy to live in Mumbai. People whose films have become hits and who are doing regular work, only they survive. Otherwise it’s tough. You may get a TV show and work for 4 months. But when it stops, you either refuse projects or don’t get them at all and you end up sitting empty handed. This process kept happening with me for some time. But destiny wanted me to stay.
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Have you made real friends who have stood by you during tough times?
Only time tells who stands with you when trouble hits you. But I have several good friends like Sanjay Mishra, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Sajid-Wajid ke Sajid, Vinit Kumar, Tarun Shukla, Nawab Shah among others. My friendship is like there should be no expectation that my friend will do this for me. We have a good time together and enjoy ourselves.
You have worked with Salman Khan in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Dabangg 3. How was your experience working with him?
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It was very good. I enjoyed it a lot. Since day 1, we were staying in rooms while shooting for Prem Ratan Dhan Payo in Karjat. While Salman used to get non-vegetarian food, Sooraj Barjatya used to bring vegetarian food. Every day I used to have dinner and lunch with Salman bhai. He is a very good person, very helping nature, very good actor, very caring and a good human being. I really enjoyed that phase.
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Have you been in touch with both of them?
I have not been in touch with Sooraj Barjatya and Salman bhai is a busy man. I have met him at a party once or twice but I have not been in touch with him. But let me tell you one interesting thing about them.
I came here in 1987. There were no auditions at that time. You would just carry a picture of yourself. There were no mobile phones either. We would talk on the landline. I would ask the paanwala to let me know if someone called me on the landline and request them to take their phone number. At that time, Sooraj Barjatya was a young man, somewhere around 20-22 years old I guess. I met him and he gave me a very good response. It was for Maine Pyar Kiya. But the role went to Salman Khan. Coincidentally, after 22-23 years, he offered me Prem Ratan Dhan Payo alongside Salman. I would like to thank God that he has given me a lot of patience because I have seen so many people coming after me and becoming big stars.
In 2012, I got a call and they told me that Sooraj wants to meet me and let us know about your dates, which were nearly 50-60 days over the year. I thought it must be a big role, so let’s do it. Sooraj and his father Raj Kumar Barjatya told me about the story and my role. At this point, I didn’t know that they still remembered me because it had been a very long time. Sooraj had become a star director by then and Salman became a big superstar. We never met after our first meeting. But an unexpected call came, and Sooraj said that I want you to play this role in PRDP. And while we were shooting, Salman bhai was also there and Sooraj told people on the sets, ‘Deepraj had first come to me in 1987. I was casting for Maine Pyar Kiya and I had considered him for Prem’s role.’ I was really shocked that Sooraj still remembered that because we never ever discussed it with anyone. It feels really good when people remember you and appreciate you.
How did you meet your wife Natasha?
I was doing a serial for Doordarshan. It was directed by my friend. It was based on poets. In an episode, I was playing the role of Kaifi Azmi and Natasha was playing the wife’s role. Then we both felt a connection with each other and felt that we have to do this together in real life as well. So we just decided to go for it and got married. It has been a great journey for us. We are very happy together and enjoying life.
You have worked across mediums and languages. Were you ever apprehensive about your choices?
Never. But yes, I had a little problem because I came from theater background. When I started television, it was a very closed medium as compared to theater where you act in front of a huge crowd. Here, the camera is really very close to your face. So your acting becomes a little different. You have to do a little overacting. I kept learning and I am still learning.
People say that actors who are working on television do mediocre work. What do you feel about this?
All the big stars be it Shah Rukh Khan or Manoj Bajpayee, they all have come from TV. This is just a matter of one’s perception, there is no reality in it. The power lies in your work. No matter what the medium is, be it theatre, TV or feature films, if you know how to act, you are going to survive and get bigger opportunities. People make perceptions that working on television is a very small thing and film is a big thing. We have also worked on television, we are still doing it. Because of that we got films and now we are working on OTT as well. I don’t pay much attention to opinions. I just act and forget. I don’t get sad when a project fails or celebrate when it’s successful. I don’t care about how many crores my films are making or what TRPs my shows are getting. I just want to do my work with honesty and enjoy my life.
What does being successful mean to you?
I can praise myself, my children and everything I do. But it matters when the other person thinks you’re successful or not. For me, success is that I am able to live my life and work according to my own terms and be able to enjoy my life. I am not interested in running in the rat race. I don’t even think that one day I will become Shah Rukh Khan and then only I will be successful. People appreciate my work. They recognise me when I am walking on the street or in the marketplace. They are loving me and want to click a picture with me. So I am pretty content with where I am today.
When I had started doing Na Aana Is Des Laado, the serial was running in 5th position in the TRP charts. After my entry, next Thursday the show went on to the numero uno position. It is not something that you witness every other day. People didn’t highlight it at that time, but it was a very big thing for a show to jump from 5th position to the number one position. This is my biggest kick on television. And I thanked God for letting me experience this phenomenon.
Have you faced politics in the industry?
I have not experienced it, and I don’t even want to care what people are planning and plotting or what they are talking about me. I leave everything to God. Here, I am in front of you, it has been 35 years in the industry so far. I am alive and I am working and I will continue to do it.
What do you think about OTT and its censorship?
OTT is a very good medium for actors right now because who watches television nowadays. People are also improving as writers and directors. It’s the age of OTT. If there is a requirement for a story, then use of abusive language, bold scenes can happen. If all these things are being put forcefully only to lure the audience to watch it, then I don’t think it is worth it. Otherwise, I don’t have any issues with it.
Tell us about your upcoming projects.
I am doing a film called Shimla, which will also feature Gauri Pradhan and Indranil Sen. It’s a very family oriented story which revolves around a husband and a wife. Then a third person comes into their lives, which brings a lot of twists and turns. Yogesh Varma has written and directed it. Then I am also doing a project called Children’s Day and Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Pachas Din, which is a story of a dacoit.
If there’s one thing that you would like to change about yourself by going back in time, what would it be?
I don’t want to go back. I want to keep moving forward in life. Yes, there are some shortcomings but eventually you will learn if you are able to understand where you are lacking and you are willing to improve and reinvent yourself. Everybody has their pluses and minuses. Now that you have asked what I would like to change about myself, I would say that maybe I would like to get rid of my anger. I have faced a lot of problems. I have made a lot of enemies because of anger. People get scared and they tell other people not to cast him. It has become a little tough because if you can’t make the casting director happy, then it is difficult for you to move forward. But in my case, the director and producer have known me for many years. So they call me directly and I keep getting work.
