Actor Dheeraj Dhoopar loves driving to Matheran and lonavala whenever he gets some time away from work. He spoke to Divya Kaushik
Getting used to working almost 18 hours a day is no easy task. But Dheeraj Dhoopar enjoys the frenzy and doesn’t crib about long working hours. Before doing daily soaps the actor was doing commercials with the topmost brands. “And prior to that I was modelling, which is equally hectic. So during the initial days of my career I realised that if entertainment industry offers you good money, fame and an opportunity to work with brilliant people, the biggest disadvantage is that you don’t get the luxury of fixed working hours and you don’t know if you will be getting a day off or not. In these last four years, since I am in Mumbai, things have fallen in place and I don’t mind working almost an entire day,” says Dhoopar, who is seen in Sasural Simar Ka on Colors. Before this he has done a couple of other shows like Behnein and Zindagi Kahe-Smile Please. The actor who was brought up in Delhi has no formal training in acting. He says that most of his training took place on the sets, “For an actor nothing can be a better training ground than the set itself. I have learnt on the job. If you will look at my past works, I have always focussed on different kind of stories. I have been a part of emotional plots, comedy series and family dramas, so I am still learning and having a good experience,” he says.
There is little time left after work for himself and whenever he gets even a day off he prefers driving to hill stations near Mumbai. like lonavala and Matheran.
“I love long drives and especially during the rainy season places like lonavala and Matheran adorn this lustrous green cover. I get to know of my next day’s schedule mostly in the evening and if it is an off next day I start early morning and in case I am super lucky to get two days off I love to stay back and make most of the free time I get to spend with my friends. After five days of hectic work I really need a day’s break to rejuvenate and get some energy for the week's work,” he says.
On weekends, if Dhoopar is in Mumbai you can often spot him at Palladium in lower Parel and Infiniti at Malad. “I love shopping, bowling and watching films. All of these are easy stress busters. Even if I get a few hours for myself I go out for shopping and bowling,” adds Dhoopar. The actor, before coming to Mumbai, has spent some time at places like london and Belgium, so he says that it is not very difficult to stay on his own. “I have been managing things on my own since long now and I know what I need to destress. But I still miss my family, especially the weekends that I used to spend with my parents as a child. Appu Ghar was my favourite spot and I used to visit the amusement park on every weekend,” he says.
After doing different kind of work on the small screen, the actor is prepared for his big screen entry. He has already started approaching filmmakers and is getting a positive response as well. “I think it is a natural progression for an actor to make a shift to Bollywood after working in TV. I am waiting to be a part of the commercial cinema. I think I am best at playing a boy-next-door kind of role, something that Ranbir Kapoor played in Rs Up Sid. Ayan Mukherjee is my favourite director and it is my dream to work with him. Apart from him I would like to work with Sanjay leela Bhansali,” he ends.