Strutting around in a tux at the tantalising French Riviera, this telly star is having the time of his life.

 “Being a part of the TV industry you do not get to see anything of this expanse, its unimaginable,” exclaims Gautam Gulati aka Vikram of Diya Aur Baati Hum fame, who is at Cannes for the premiere of a Rakesh Mehta directed short film Darpok that features him in the lead. 

A Punjabi film set in a village, it revolves around the trauma of a young man who couldn't protect his mother from getting raped during his childhood. 

“I’m playing the character of Joga, a guy who lives under trauma for 14 years, till one fine day he decides to take revenge.” 

Having worked in a Sri Lankan film earlier, Gautam considers himself lucky to make it to Cannes with his second film only. So, was it hard to attune himself to Punjabi dialect and way of life for this film? Metrolife asks the Delhi boy. 

“In this film my character comes back from London, so on that front we man­­­­­a­ged to find a balance. But frankly, if I could manage to pull off a Sri Lankan cha­­­­r­­­­­acter, then of course with some preparation a Punjabi character wasn’t that difficult.” 

But he adds, “The only thing which was difficult was to feel this character and to be in his shoes. Even after the shoot I used to cry a lot, it was the effect of this character. Everyone in this world is so close to their mothers and if something bad happens to them then automatically it spoils our life as well.” 

Per­­­­­­­­­h­­­aps, playing this character was a cathartic experience for Gautam. 

“The only word I have picked here is merci (thank you),” says Gautam with a hint of French accent. “It is fulfilling to see that people who have caught a glimpse of our film have been left impressed. There are a many who mistake me for an Italian actor, perhaps I have such looks,” gushes the actor. 

Gautam started his acting career with theatre in the lanes of Mandi House in Delhi. Working his way up on the ladder, the telly star has been acting since the last seven years. Leapfrogging from TV to films, he tells us, “This film is for the festival circuit only. In a year’s time you may get to watch it online.”

 Talking about his television experience, he says, “Acting in TV is like Maggi noodles, make it right there and do it right there but films require you to get into the skin of the character, be in tandem with the thought process of your director. But I haven’t tried my luck in Bollywood as of yet.”