Amol Parashar, best known as Tripling’s Chitvan, added unconventional roles to his credit to break free from the character that defined him, and the audience is loving it. But it took a lot of courage, convincing, and quitting a 9-5 job to pursue his dreams

An engineer by profession but an actor at heart, Amol Parashar decided to pack his bags almost a decade ago for the city of dreams. While many only aspire to quit their 9-5 ‘stable’ jobs and take the risk to pursue their passion, Parashar found the fortitude to give his dreams a shot. Did he succeed in making a name while doing what he loves? The answer would be an obvious yes. Since 2009, the actor has been a part of films like Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, and the recently released Sardar Udham, and he’s managed to make the audience take notice of him in projects that were star-studded.

It is a no-brainer that when it comes to an IITian quitting a secure job to get into a profession as fickle as acting, society will have a lot to say. The actor was also pestered with a lot of questions about his future, but his parents’ support helped him sail through. “My parents, despite being worried and scared about my decision, never tried to force me to change my mind. I didn’t promise them (or myself) any material success, I just told them that it was a rational decision, and I will do what is best for myself and everyone around me. I am glad they are not as anxious about me as they were before (maybe a little anxious because Indian parents after all),” the Delhi boy says.

With an ambitious vision and the blessing of his parents, Parashar finally decided to quit his job in Pune, and get into theatre. It was somewhat easy for him to stand before a live audience and perform because of all his previous stints during his college days. He brushed up his skills and landed his first role with Ranbir Kapoor in Rocket Singh. However, even during the early years of his career, he had the vision to not stick to one platform. The digital space had only begun to boom, and Parashar took any opportunity that came his way. He bagged the role of his iconic character, Chitvan, in Tripling in 2016. It became a benchmark for him. The ‘baba-loving’ DJ was an instant hit, and the actor’s name became synonymous with it. He used all the love to his advantage and chose “to stay hungry, without getting desperate.”

As it happens with any actor who establishes himself with his debut, people now know a pre-Tripling Parashar, and a post-Tripling Parashar, and the actor only sees it as a benefit. “Before Tripling, I used to miss out on a lot of projects because I wasn’t known enough or marketable enough for the producers. Chitvan and Tripling gave me that currency.” And while he returned as Chitvan for season 2 of the show and will be reprising the quirky role for the next season, Parashar feels it was quite easy for him to get out of the character, and bag a new variety of roles. He is a beneficiary of the digital streaming platforms boom with projects like It Happened in Hong Kong, TVF Bisht Please, Feels Like Ishq in his kitty, establishing that he does not want to stick to just one kind of role or platform.

“There was, of course, a barrage of offers that were similar to the character but at the same time, there was never a short supply of new and interesting characters. I also have to give credit to my directors for having the imagination and faith in my craft to offer me these roles.” He played a loverboy in one film, and a hopeless romantic in another. He played a revolutionary in one project, and a happy-go-lucky guy in another. He experimented with his craft because he is scared of getting bored. “I am always on the lookout for something that feels new and fresh. Having said that, a good script and a director with a vision are of utmost importance while making a film. Different for the sake of different is also a trap I don’t want to fall into.”

However, even after doing such a different range of characters, our boy-next-door has qualms about doing conventional filmy romance on screen. “If I had to do what Shah Rukh Khan has pulled off for years, I think I’ll have sleepless nights. Thankfully, many young stories and scripts and characters these days don’t necessarily follow the same conventions of on-screen romance, which makes it easier for me to relate to and perform.” But he credits his directors Shoojit Sircar, Alankrita Shrivastava, and his co-actors, including Konkana Sensharma, Vicky Kaushal, for helping him shine brighter.

“With both these directors (and some others that I’ve worked with), I saw that they had an understanding of the fact that an actor can be nervous sometimes, and guided it in the right direction, with a genuine, humble desire to get the best out of the actor, and the scene without any place for egos and showmanship,” he states.

It looks like working with Kaushal did help him make a mark. His last stint as a supporting actor in Sardar Udham had everyone, once again, talking about his craft. The actor thanks social media for the same. “The audience now has a voice, thanks to social media platforms. Conventional media may suffer from lack of space, and sometimes fail to feature “smaller” contributions but yeh public sab jaanti hai, sab dekhti hai, aur ab bolti bhi hai,” he quips.

With another notable character added to his IMDb list, Parashar gives hope to many young actors to take the big leap. He, however, feels that he is not the right person to advise anyone on how they should navigate their own path. He just wants you to “keep reminding yourself: to be true to yourself, keep yourself curious, hold onto your individuality and never stop self-reflecting,” when deciding to stick with your secure 9-5 job or not.

And while you plot a course for your career or guide someone else, Parashar is here to inspire you. He is going to eventually venture into scriptwriting and storytelling. He has a couple of films that he has shot for. “And like always, I am waiting for that next script and character where I can surprise myself and everyone again,” he signs off.