Apart from Kangana Ranaut and Kangana Ranaut, Deepak Dobriyal has become the talking point of Tanu Weds Manu Returns. The actor is terrific as Manu’s (Madhavan) best friend Pappi. Deepak might look nothing like a conventional Hindi film actor — he is short, lanky and has a receding hairline — but the success enjoyed by the likes of Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui gives him hope. We met Deepak — who we have kept an eye on right from his Omkara (Saif Ali Khan’s sidekick) days — at one of the many ‘struggler addas’ aka coffee shops in Versova, Mumbai, to chat about the success of the Aanand L. Rai film which has just entered the Rs 100 crore club.

Congratulations for Tanu Weds Manu Returns...

Thank you. All this feels like a dream. It’s all too much… I can’t believe that people are loving my work so much! Someone told me that I should add ‘Dr’ to my name because I am curing people with humour! (Laughs) But there are some filmmakers who’ve started thinking that I’ve become too big for their films…or that I am going to hike my fees... 

You’ve been in the industry for over a decade now. Do you think you’ve got your due?

Haan, yaar…I guess. Some people know my name. I have managed to make some kind of a mark with films like Tanu Weds Manu and now the sequel... or Omkara. Whatever the role or the genre, I have given every film my best. People outside the industry… the audience... recognises and loves me. What more could I ask for?

Earlier, you were often rejected because of your looks. Has that stopped?

(Laughs) Yes, thankfully. Earlier, directors wanted even the hero ka dost to look like a hero! But that’s changed now. More importance is given now to your talent and confidence. See, Pappi is not good-looking, but people love him because he is nice and fun. Looks matter only if you want to be a hero. 
I am not under any illusion that I am a hero. 

You moved to Mumbai after doing theatre in Delhi for seven years. Has it been a long struggle?

I don’t know if I can really complain. Every time I feel like I have struggled, I remember that there are thousands here (in Mumbai) who struggle for decades to get any kind of work. After Omkara, I had thought that I would do a certain kind of work, but nothing of the sort came my way. I did get frustrated and you start having negative thoughts. Then you start signing whatever films come your way because you need to work and earn money. A success like Tanu Weds Manu Returns is a sort of emotional healing. It soothes your soul. 

How do you avoid being typecast as the affable sidekick?

That’s a big problem. See, I’ve done theatre and I have played all kinds of roles in over 40 plays. So, when I say that I don’t want to repeat a role, I am talking about everything I have done on stage and in films. Today, if there are 300 films being made, there will be 50 offers that will come my way that will be like Pappi. It’s very frustrating, but I have to refuse them! As an actor, I only want to pick roles that will challenge me while directors only want to cast me in roles I’ve already done. Bollywood traps you in an image. But thankfully, there are directors like Rajat Kapoor who can see beyond an actor’s image. He gave Vijay Raaz a Raghu Romeo and Sanjay Mishra an Ankhon Dekhi. Directors like Rajat and Anurag (Kashyap) are visionaries. 

In the past, you have mentioned that you’d want to do a biopic. Who would you want to play?

I would have loved to play (hockey legend) Dhyan Chand, but I hear someone else is doing it now. Not many people know about his brother Roop Chand who scored more goals than him but was always overshadowed by Dhyan. I would also love to play Pinki Pramanik, the athlete who had to go through sex-determination tests.