‘Irrfan brings out the best in his co-actors’
Deepak Dobriyal rose to fame with his comic portrayal of the hero’s best friend in Tanu Weds Manu (2011). Since then, he has carved a niche for himself as the boy-next-door who provides the much-needed comic relief in films such as Tanu Weds Manu: Returns (2015) and Hindi Medium (2017). As he gears up for the release of Angrezi Medium, he says, “I would like to keep exploring [myself] within the comedy genre. I want to do different kinds of comedy.”
The actor says that it would help him understand his process better. “In a film, the challenge is to make people laugh through different characters because you need to understand that person’s temperament and disposition.
That’s exactly why I enjoy playing different roles and that helps me fall in love with the process of my craft. I love exploring parts such as that of a romantic guy or a cunning fellow, who’s also funny,” he elaborates.
Talking about his love for improvising scenes, he says, “I love being spontaneous and adding nuances to my characters. It’s important to do this, and I believe it’s a very personal process. Some of the funniest scenes in Angrezi Medium were born out of improv.” Ask Deepak about reuniting with Irrfan and he excitedly says they had a whale of a time on the sets of the film. “Irrfan is a very good actor. On the sets, we bonded over food and we shared a lot of professional and personal anecdotes. We used to go swimming and spent a lot of time together while shooting for 30 days in London, as well as in India,” he says.
Deepak says that it is Irrfan’s spontaneity that makes him different. He shares, “My job was to keep making him laugh. He also used to keep the set lively with his sense of humour. Acting is about reacting. And he brings out the best reaction in his co-actors and also keeps you guessing about his own [reaction].
That is what sets him apart.”