Caught in the web...

Tall, dark and handsome Gaurav Chopra has been carving a niche for himself in the world of television and films for over a decade now. However, acting was never on the Delhi boy's mind during his growing up years. "I came from a family that was very inclined towards education. I was too successful academically to admit that acting was something that I wanted to do. Those days, acting was considered as a career option only for those who weren't good in studies," he recalls.

Although he was always among the top three students in his class in school and even completed a course in fashion design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), he would often act out scenes from films in front of the mirror at home. "We didn't watch a lot of Hindi films, but I remember watching classics like Awaara and Pyaasa."

His first acting opportunity came by chance and he decided to pursue it as a hobby along with his full-time job. "I came to a point where I understood that this was something that I found a lot of satisfaction with, something that stirred me. Despite that, it was difficult to even think about shifting cities."

After a lot of thought, Gaurav decided to move to Mumbai. "My parents weren't happy initially. But thanks to my girlfriend back then, who was very instrumental in motivating me, I was able to go ahead."

From then to now, Gaurav has won the hearts of audiences for his roles in serials like Lavanya, Saara Akaash, Uttaran and Piya Ka Ghar. He has had his fair share of reality television too, with shows like Bigg Boss, Nach Baliye, Pati, Patni Aur Woh, and even the Georgian version of Dancing with the Stars to his credit. However, he doesn't appreciate the attention-seeking nature of the participants of some of these shows. "We aren't realising that by encouraging talking and expressing, we are somehow undermining the importance of thinking. Thinking has become boring, and impulsive reactions brave. I don't conduct myself as someone who is addicted to attention. In fact, I am told to tweet five times a day by my team, but I only do it once," he laughs.

Gaurav has now made the smooth transition from television to the current craze - web series. He was recently seen playing the role of Bobby Bhushan Chawla (BBC) in the show Fourplay for Balaji's digital platform Alt Balaji. Gaurav said his role as BBC, a lovable Casanova, "recharged my acting batteries", and that he was "delighted to play a fun, crazy lover boy after getting a series of angry, young man roles."

Apart from working on another web series and shooting for a television show and a short film, Gaurav will soon be making his Bollywood debut in a film based on marital rape. "It's a relevant film asking some pertinent questions."

Though he hasn't done many films, movie-buffs remember him for his brief yet impactful role of a French journalist in the Oscar-winning film Blood Diamond. One can't help but ask him how was it to work with Leonardo DiCaprio? "The fabulous thing about working in Hollywood is that everything is so real. Everybody is equal on the sets. You don't even feel like you are working with a big person. I remember suggesting many things to the director and he was actually listening to my opinions. Leo is a very amiable, instinctive and intelligent actor."

Having dabbled in television, films and web series, he says, "When I take up a project, I don't think about the big or small screen. My approach is the same to all. It's not the medium that counts but the role. The medium lends itself to different audiences, and that's the fun part."

Is there any film-maker that he would like to work with? He quips, "Nowadays, every director is a genre by himself. You have the Sanjay Leela Bhansali genre, the Raju Hirani genre, the Rohit Shetty genre, the Mani Ratnam genre, the Neeraj Pandey genre and so on. If they call me for a role, I'd jump at it!" he signs off.