A 1999 alumnus of St Joseph’s College of Commerce (Autonomous), Bengaluru boy Gautam Sharma has now made a name for himself in the Hindi television industry. Having played some popular characters like Dushyanta in ‘Shakuntala’, Arjuna in ‘Dwarkadheesh – Bhagwaan Shree Krishn’ and Bablu Patel in ‘Jamai Raja’, Gautam is slowly but surely carving a niche for himself. In an interview with Surupasree Sarmmah, he talks about his fond memories of Bengaluru, his favourite hangout places and more.
Tell us about your connection with Bengaluru...
Bengaluru is home to me. I was born and brought up in the city and completed my education there. My family still leaves there and I visit them often.
What were some of your favourite hangout places?
Back in the day, my friends and I hung out mostly in MG Road and Brigade Road. Our favourite place to head to was ‘Pecos’. As a family, our favourite restaurant was ‘Nagarjuna’, where we used to enjoy the Andhra meals, spicy chilli chicken and Andhra biryani. We used to visit Airlines Hotel on Lavelle Road too.
When you come home now, what do you feel has changed in the city?
Though the traffic and population has increased a lot, Bengaluru as a city is still very welcoming, which I don’t see in other cities like Delhi and Mumbai. The people here are quite polite and humble.
How and when did you take to acting?
It was a stroke of luck. While in college, I did a lot of fashion shows and plays. In one of those years, I was chosen to represent Bengaluru in ‘Grasim Mr India’ in Mumbai, for which I moved to the city.
Soon I started modelling and eventually started getting offers for advertisements. Later, the doors to the television industry opened for me.
Do you have any Bollywood aspirations?
Honestly, I don’t have any aspirations to work in Bollywood films; I would like to work in online portals like Netflix. For me, meaningful content is more important, it doesn’t matter which platform I am working on.
Your interests other than acting?
I love being fit, work out in any form interests me. Sports is another activity that keeps me engaged. I religiously follow my passion for riding. I love bikes and I am also part of a riding club in Mumbai. We usually head out for rides on weekends.
If not an actor, what would you aspire to be?
I would have been a pilot. I have always admired men in uniform.
A few of his favourite things