Could not become a hero in Bollywood as I debuted with a negative role, says Rahul Dev

Rahul Dev is the limelight because of his series 'Love Scandal and Doctors'

Actor Rahul Dev says that he could never become a 'Bollywood hero' as he made his debut with a negative role as opposed to the gallant knight in the lead role.

"By the time I made my Bollywood debut around 2001 there was a clear demarcation between the hero and the villain. You could not cross over to the other side. I received offers for negative roles as I debuted with one," he told DH in an exclusive interview.

Rahul began his acting career with the Hindi movie Champion, which also starred Sunny Deol. He subsequently made his presence felt in Tamil and Telugu cinema with antihero roles in films such as Vedalam and Simhadri. This yielded mixed results as he got typecast despite garnering a fair deal of attention.

The actor finally managed to experiment with his reel image when he essayed a key role in the web series The Test Case, which received rave reviews from critics. The Torbaaz antagonist consolidated his standing in the OTT space with the comedy Who's Your Daddy? while exploring his funny side.

"I have always been a commercial actor. OTT helped me do something realistic and different," adds the actor.

Rahul hopes to continue his tryst with realistic roles with his latest series Love Scandal and Doctors (LSD), a thriller set against the backdrop of a hospital. The show has piqued the curiosity of the fans as it is touted to be a 'first-of-its-kind' attempt at storytelling.

"LSD is a show with layers and I kind of relate with my character as he too is a single father. I have not seen such shows in India," says the actor.

Rahul, however, makes it clear the first season of LSD is not about his character even though he is there in all the episodes.

"The show is not about me but the character development is critical in setting up the end of the season," he adds.

Rahul Dev, meanwhile, is going through a busy phase on the work front. The Poison 2 star will soon be seen in the upcoming web series Duniya Gayi Bhaad Mein,