Shankar in 'Chander Pahar' to Chandan in 'Sanjhbati': Dev picks five of his favourite onscreen roles

Dev recently completed 15 years in Tollywood. When ETimes asked the Bengali superstar about the five favourite characters he has played in his career, Dev gets nostalgic. The actor-producer picks five of his best onscreen roles. Read on...

“Shankar from Kamaleswar Mukherjee’s Chander Pahar will always be close to my heart. Shooting for the film in the Amazon rainforest was a grand experience, which I’ll remember always.”

Just as in Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s classic novella set in 1909, Dev’s character is a dreamer who wants to travel the world. His journey takes him on an incredible path from his quiet Bengali village to the heart of Africa in search of a fabled diamond mine.

“I had to play to my strength — like flaunting a lean, mean physique and banishing opponents with a signature right uppercut. The sinewy, ultra lean physique, especially during Shibaji’s heydays and in the climactic bout – I still remember all these things.”

In the film, Shibaji Sanyal (Dev) soars to great heights as a pro boxer, only to come crashing down after a near-fatal injury. Fed up with the drudgery his life turns into, he decides to challenge his fate and rise again.

“Amal from Buno Haansh is another favourite, as I played a guy next door for the first time. Working with Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury was also a lovely experience.”

Dev was seen as Amal, a clean slate guy who makes both ends meet working as a guard at a mall. Poverty leads to that chronic malaise, unhappiness, and he takes up the job of a carrier when offered one. Thus, begins life on the wild side.

“I had to give a calm, collected and measured performance, a world away from my ‘superstar’ image.”

In the film, we see an elderly lady, Sulekha (Lily Chakraborty), suffering the same fate. She lives with Phuli (Paoli Dam) and Chandan (Dev).

“Then there was Dev in Rajib’s Paglu. The songs of the film, which also did well at the box office, are still popular.”

In the film, Dev emerges a winner, with his lover boy image, action and Nunchaku sequences and, of course, his grooves. He bashes up the bad guys but not before warning: ‘Emon mar marbo je police o amar kachhe sikhte asbe kelano kake bole’.