Dileap to catch the stars

With a master’s degree in commerce, the strapping lad flew to the UAE to work in a multinational company as an accountant. But his passion to act made him fly back frequently in search of the right opportunity to shine in his dream profession — acting. Model-turned-actor Dileep R Shetty, who hails from Mangaluru, took the small screen route to fame, and he cannot wait to find brighter stars in the days to come with several offers coming his way. The actor who portrays the lead role in Vidya Vinayaka on Zee Kannada talks about his constant journey from the UAE, and much more.

“Ever since my post-graduation, I have been in the UAE working as an accountant for over four years. Modelling and acting was always my passion, and hence I always made it a point to fly back during vacations in search of the right opportunities to realise my dreams. In the meanwhile, I had worked on several modelling assignments in UAE, and even bagged the Mr Dubai title in 2015,” says Dileep R Shetty.

While his search was on, along with his modelling career, it was the social media platform which helped him get his big break. “The producer of Vidya Vinayaka contacted me through Instagram. My journey took off then, and even my company back in the UAE was very supportive, and allowed me to pursue my acting interest. With such a good response to the serial, I finally decided to resign from work and permanently move to Bengaluru for better opportunities,” says Dileep.

The actor has also featured in a video album Qalander by Pakistani singer Stuff Ali. “It was a different experience featuring in a video album performed by a Pakistani singer. It is one such classic example of how art, culture and tradition binds people across world, irrespective of their origin and to which country they belong,” he adds.

On why he chose the small screen as his debut, he says that television is the best medium to learn the basics, while big screen is all about luck. “If it fails to work, there are very little chances of making it back, especially for a newcomer with no backing in the industry,” Dileep says.

With female fans growing in number thanks to his rich avatar as Vinayaka, ask about wedding plans, and he shares that he is fortunate that his family has always been a huge support and when he finally decides to say yes to the special one in his life, he will share more.

“I was amazed that many people appreciated my work in the serial back in the UAE. With time delays, most of them cannot watch the prime telecast of the serial but they watch repeat telecasts during afternoon breaks for lunch. Many Indians watch regional serials, there. I wish the programme is telecast with sub-titles so that it can attract local audiences there,” he wraps up.