With a shy smile, sensitive eyes and boy-next-door looks, Purab Kohli is the newest face of crossover films. Lauded and appreciated for his role as the artistic and sensitive Nigel D?Costa in My Brother Nikhil, Purab has at last made the transition from the small screen to the big screen. Although he has tried his luck on 70 mm with films like Bas Yun Hi and Supari, it has been My Brother Nikhil that has proved lucky for this 27-year-old.

Purab?s role as a student of Oceanography, who is shy, reserved and homosexual, has been very well appreciated. Unlike other homosexual characters in Bollywood films, Purab and Sanjay Suri?s portrayal of a gay couple has made the audiences sit up and notice. ?Sanjay approached me last July and offered me the role. And I must confess that I was sceptical about the role and how it would be executed,? states Purab.

?But the script,? he adds, ?made me say yes.? Purab, in his trademark style, gives full points to director Onirbaan for the role and characterisation. ?I remember asking Onir and Sanjay to leave the script behind so that I could read it over the weekend. But it didn?t turn out that way at all. I started reading the script and in three hours, I had changed my mind from ?maybe? to ?definitely?,? says the actor.

Starting his career with the teenage show ? Hip Hip Hurray on Zee, Purab?s rise to fame has been full of ups and downs. After a brief stint in acting on television, Purab shifted gears to become a veejay with Channel [V] before trying his luck on the big screen. Says Purab, ?My acting career may have just happened by chance, but I never took it lightly. After being an actor, a veejay and a model, the next step was the big screen.?

On his way to becoming a pilot, Purab never dreamt of joining the world of glamour and glitz. As a regular college kid, Purab with his friends, in fact, sniggered at Hindi television serials. Laughs the actor, ?I auditioned for Hip Hip Hurray when I was 18. My first reaction was ?yikes! a Hindi television serial, that?s so uncool?. But nevertheless, I landed up at the producer?s place with a few friends in tow. I had told my friends I would just walk out in five minutes after turning down the offer, but returned 45 minutes later with a role in my hand and some really mad friends to face.?

It was a decision that changed Purab?s life. One year down the line, he found himself introducing singers, musicians and the newest music videos on Channel [V]. Now of course, Purab has cut down on his work to concentrate on his film career. His next film Kaun Ho Sakta Hai, which is a typical Hindi commercial film is set to release this May or June. Produced by his father, Purab believes that there aren?t art house or commercial films. ?In fact,? he says, ?I don?t wish to be typecast, which is what I feared after Supari.?

Referring to his experience in Padam Kumar?s Supari, Purab claims that the movie was a bleak period in his life. The film, which starred Purab alongside Uday Chopra, Rahul Dev and Akashdeep Sehgal as contract killers was supposed to be Purab?s launch pad but the film got delayed, leaving him dismayed. ?It was a very bad phase of my life. Producers thought it would be risky to take me on for another project as I was not a bankable star and I could not sport the ?film debutant? tag either. It was at this time that I was offered Bas Yun Hi opposite Nandita Das,? informs Purab.

The film didn?t do too well but it launched Purab in a different light ? as the boy-next-door. A model, a veejay, an actor ? Purab has donned several roles but ask him his favourite and pat comes the reply, ?Right now I am enjoying acting.? He adds, ?But I also enjoy veejaying. The channel gives me a lot of liberty and flexibility to do my own thing.?

Purab never attended an acting school or trained under anyone but movie-making, he believes, is a learning process. He insists on rehearsals and insists on taking inputs from directors, actors and anyone else who wishes to advise him. ?Acting, be it in movies or in serials is a learning process. Television incorporates bits of everything, be it theatre or the big screen. Movies, on the other hand, have a different appeal,? concludes Purab, who has just finished shooting for Luke Kenny?s film 13th Floor.