Gumraah actor Deepak Kalra: From a junior artiste to bagging a lead role, the actor credit his mother for what he is today

By being a part of projects such as Guilty Minds (2022) and the recent release, Gumraah, actor Deepak Kalra has carved out his own niche in Bollywood. However, the 28-year-old’s journey has not been an easy one.

Recalling the initial days of his career, the actor, who hails from a middle class family in Delhi, tells us, “It all started in 2007 when I performed at a cousin’s wedding without taking help from a choreographer. Everyone noticed my dance performance and asked my mom to send me to reality shows like Boogie Woogie or Dance India Dance. But, for two years, I was only caught up among frauds, as Delhi has a lot of them. People used to ask for some seed money for introduction and then demand more to enhance my portfolio and pictures, which was all about fooling me.”

Though Kalra’s father was not supportive of his career choices, his mother was never apprehensive about it. “My mum fought for me. She wanted me to become a star. She made me what I am today and sent me to Mumbai to fulfil her and my dreams,” says the actor, who started off as a junior artiste, was later cast in a supporting role and would be seen playing the lead in an upcoming web series, Provider and Bajaao.

Kalra made his showbiz debut by featuring in Dance Premier League and he recalls jokingly undermining superstar Salman Khan and didn’t let him speak. “It went viral on every news channel,” he recounts, adding, “That’s when a coordinator called my mother for the shoot of Rockstar in Saket where I was a junior artiste and was paid Rs. 770 for the part. I still have that cheque with me. And, my first paycheck was for Rs. 500 for an advertisement and I handed it to my mom proudly as it was my first self earned income.”

And even after shifting to Mumbai, things weren’t as smooth as he may have thought. Sharing about the challenges he faced as a newbie in the city of dreams, Kalra says, “I used to live at a friend’s house in Mumbai and used to sleep on the floor with a single sheet. I had no living space and money to survive in such an expensive city.”

However, with time, his situation began to change for the better. He goes on, “I started by taking dance classes in Mumbai. I even auditioned for a number of roles and landed a few, including films like Fan (2016) and Ragini MMS Returns (2017). The proudest moment was when I worked with my inspiration, actor Shah Rukh Khan in Fan. I cherish it forever.”

Talking about how he grabbed his latest stint Gumraah, alongside Aditya Roy Kapur and Mrunal Thakur, the actor says, “In the mid of 2020, I got a call to audition for the role of Chaddi in Gumraah. Within two days, I had a video call with the director and he felt that I was similar to the character. We are the first ones to shoot and film in Gaffar Market in Delhi and it happened because of my suggestion. So, we started shooting in 2021 and wrapped it up in 2022.”