“I don’t want to do any roles that I would be ashamed of” – Deepak Dobriyal

By Soumya Anantharaman -

August 1, 2013 - 10:24 AM IST

Being a part of some of the most popular films like Dabangg 2, Tanu Weds Manu, Omkara and many more, Deepak Dobriyal has often played the man with grey shades. When Delhi and comedy is currently the trending flavour of Bollywood, here comes yet another blend in that category, titled Chor Chor Super Chor. Aiming to be one of those small films making it big in the box office, this film stars Deepak Dobriyal along with Priya Bathija, Anshul Kataria and is directed by Rajesh K.

“I don’t want to do any roles that I would be ashamed of” – Deepak Dobriyal

Deepak Dobriyal who plays the lead character of Satbir starts his life as a small time thief but his character has an element of a positivist, which inspires him to lead a life of honesty. Elaborating on his role, Deepak says, "Satbir has a godfather named Shuklaji who adopts street orphans and teaches them the knack of robbery. Though he gets involved in the racket, he is unhappy with his life and leaves the gang to lead an honest and sincere life. However, Satbir comes across as a very foolish personality because of which he fails at every job. However when his professional life reaches a dead end, he has no choice but to re-join his old gang."

This movie which is based in Delhi revolves around gang of thieves who indulge in petty crimes in the city. When asked about the film being inspired from real life incidents, Deepak immediately admitted that he has come across a lot of incidents since he was born and brought up in Delhi. He said, "While I stayed in Delhi, I have come across petty thieves especially in a bus. I also remember taking a couple of them to the police station. In reality, there is a gang who functions together. They target crowded areas and create confusion among people, to avoid getting caught."

While the movie is inspired from Delhi, Deepak maintains that it bears no resemblance to the recent hit movie Fukrey which also was based on a group of kids from the capital who get involved illegal petty crimes just to make easy money. "I have seen Fukrey. Our film is very different. Yes, it's true that it is based in Delhi but it is a different perception of the city. In Fukrey, the characters are unaware of their ultimate goal. In our film, the lead characters have an aim that they have to achieve. Also the movie has been shot on the outskirts of the city like Gurgaon. We haven't included shots of Red Fort or India Gate just to show the essence of Delhi. This is a completely different world," said Deepak.

The actor has an experience of working with A-listers like Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgn and many more. When asked about the experience of working with debutants this time, the actor said that he enjoyed it so much that he would prefer to work with newbies rather than experience actors. "I have decided that in future, I would prefer working with new people. They always have fresh ideas and are very involved in their work. Though working with biggies gives you a lot of visibility but I somehow lack job satisfaction because you have a small role."

But Deepak at the same time maintains that he would love to do any role if the director has faith in him. "However, I do believe that versatility is indeed required and I won't mind doing a film if the director believes that I would be the one doing justice to the role. But I don't want to do any roles that I would be ashamed of later," said the actor.

Also talking about debutants, his co-star Priya Bathija has been a friend of Deepak for the past five years. Talking about his camaraderie with the actress, he said, "It was great working with my old friend. Actually when I was talking to the director about the requirements of a female lead, co incidentally I realized that my friend Priya Bathija was also looking out for an opportunity in films. So, I recommended her but that was it! Her screen tests and auditions were taken along with other actresses and she qualified as Rajesh really liked her," said Deepak.

While the actors are eagerly awaiting its release in India, Chor Chor Super Chor has already won hearts abroad. The film recently was screened at the Stuttgart Film Festival and was officially selected as a nominee. Expressing his happiness, Deepak said, "I am very happy. Our director Rajesh also got an opportunity to screen this film at one of the German Film festivals. We got a stupendous response. They actually thought the movie was made with real thieves but later, realized that we were all trained actors."

Deepak who seems to be quite excited about the film has always played serious roles and a shift to comic caper was surely a surprise. But what turns out to be even more surprising is the fact that the actor still wants to stick to his old image and continue doing such roles as he believes that they are much more real in nature. "I would love to do serious roles. I believe anyone can do comedy. Even though if the performance of an actor lacks, the kind of comedy in contemporary times, like double meaning dialogues can do the job of tickling the ribs. However, the kind of comedy in Chor Chor Super Chor is situational," says Dobriyal.

Chor Chor Super Chor is just one in many of the films that the actor will be a part of. Elaborating on his future ventures, Deepak says, "After this, my film Sooper Se Oopar will release in October. This film will also have Vir Das in the lead and is directed by Shekhar Ghosh. I am also doing Democracy Pvt. Ltd. which will be produced by Amit Bansal and directed by Anirudh Chautala and obviously I am also doing Tanu Weds Manu 2 by Anand Rai."