Jeffrey Archer, Dan Brown on my mind!

Popular television actor Dheeraj Dhoopar, currently seen in Kundli Bhagya, gets candid about his love for thrillers with

Manasi Y Mastakar

A creative decision

I started reading as a teenager and the habit hasn’t left me since. I was never very studious, but my ambition to grow as an actor attracted me to the world of books. Over the years reading has helped me with my creativity by the means of studying different characters whilst getting engrossed in the book. I feel the fondness for books and an interest in reading is an inbuilt gift as it opens up an entire world not just of knowledge but also a sense of wild imagination and adventure unlike any other hobby.

A sucker for thrillers

I am a big sucker for thrillers and twisted plots, especially legal and murder mysteries. Give me a Dan Brown or any Jeffery Archer book and you would be my friend for life. The way their plots unwind keeps the reader engrossed till the last word on the last page. And the choice of words leading up to the suspense is brilliant. The Da Vinci Code, Behind Closed Doors, Kane & Abel, A Prisoner Of Birth, Best Kept Secret,

to name a few, are some of my all time favourites.

Making time for reading

With the kind of hectic and busy schedules we actors have, it’s hard to find time to pick up a good book and unwind. But I do try to read for at least half an hour every night before bed. Those 30 minutes are the most therapeutic and relaxing times that I spend investing in myself before I wrap up the day. Considering how pressed I am for time always, I try to read atleast one book monthly.

Getting recommendations

I tend to shop for them online mostly. A friend usually recommends books. We also exchange a lot of books between the two of us since we have similar tastes in reading.

The feel of a paperback

I prefer physical books over ebooks. The feel of a book in your hard, the smell of an old one is amazing. Borrowed books have a life and a history of their own...tiny oil or coffee stains on certain pages have a tale to tell. Any 80s or 90s kid, will never ever adapt to the idea of an ebook.

Bookish memory

Each experience is special. However, I do remember, when I read Jeffery Archer for the first time, I was blown. I read all day and all night, making my parents worried.

No adaptations, please

I am not a big fan of classics being turned into movies. May be a biography, but not a fiction book. Though I am not a big fan of autobiographies, but I loved Anne Frank’s

Diary. This girl’s life, ambitions and dreams were cut short by the nastiest events that ensued during the times she lived in. I feel hers is the story that needs to be put out there for the world at large to understand. Especially, today, at the rate the world is changing and with evil creeping into conventional society, I feel this story would hold significance.

Yes, I lied...

I have seen all the Harry Potter movies, but I haven’t read a single Potter book so far. I do wish to reading them all though.

Read what you like

Read what your heart desires. Reading is the best thing that happened to me and I would recommend it to everyone out there. It’s never too late to peruse reading as a hobby. Read a hopeless romantic novel, a silly tongue-in-cheek, a history book...whatever you fancy, just pick it up and read. Reading is the only thing I’d recommend, the content is entirely the reader’s choice.