Deepak Dobriyal is an Indian actor and theatre artist, who predominantly works in the Hindi film industry. He is known for his comic timing and impeccable dialogue delivery. He became popular after playing the role of Pappi in Tanu Weds Manu (2011). He reprised the role in the film’s sequel Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) and received critical acclaim for both films.
Wiki/Biography
Deepak Dobriyal was born on Monday, 1 September 1975 (age 47 years; as of 2023) in Satpauli village of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. His zodiac sign is Virgo. He grew up in Katwaria Sarai, Delhi, where his father relocated in search of a job. Deepak was five years old at that time. He did his schooling at Government Boys Senior Secondary School Begumpur, Delhi. He was inclined towards acting since childhood. He was also good at sports. In his school days, Deepak, along with his brother, often used to play small roles in Ramleela. Soon, he joined a theatre group, but his father was very conservative and didn’t allow him to pursue acting. When he was in class 12, most of the boys in his class had already started doing well-paid jobs and some were preparing themselves to get admission to some good colleges. However, Deepak had no clue what he wanted to make his career in. Although words of praise (for Deepak) from reviewers like Kavita Nagpal, Sushma Chadha, Ramesh Chandra, and Suchita Narula made his father happy, the lack of a permanent job bothered him (Deepak’s father). During that period, one of his uncles who lived in Antarctica for 6 months a year and worked in the Meteorological Department visited his house. He (his uncle) encouraged Deepak to take part in theatre and also elucidated to Deepak’s father about the respect that the performers and artists received in various countries. On taking his father’s permission, Deepak first joined a theatre group at RLA College, New Delhi, and later, went to Mumbai, where he was associated with a theatre group for around six years.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
He belongs to a middle-class family, who hails from Kabra village in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand.
Parents & Siblings
Deepak’s father was a government employee, who passed away in 2019. His mother, Leela, was a heart patient, who passed away in 2007. He has a brother.
Deepak Dobriyal in childhood with his parents and brother
Wife
In 2009, he got married to Lara Bhalla, an assistant director. Together, they have a son named Siddharth (Goli) and a daughter named Leela. Deepak was very close to her mother and named her daughter after her mother.
Deepak Dobriyal with Lara Bhalla
Deepak Dobriyal with his kids
Career
Theatre
Deepak Dobriyal started his career as a theatre artist in 1994 with the play Tughlaq, directed by Arvind Gaur, in which he played the role of Aazam. Some of his popular plays with Arvind include Andha Yug, Final Solutions, Court-martial, Desire Under The Elms, Rakt Kalyan, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Good Person of Szechwan, The Good Doctor, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Merchant of Venice, and Julius Caesar.
Deepak Dobriyal, Manu Rishi Chadha, and Deepak Sethi in Eugene O’Neill’s play ‘Desire Under the Elms directed by Arvind Gaur
He was associated with Gaur’s Asmita theatre group for around 6 years and later joined Pt. N. K. Sharma’s theatre group. Under the direction of N. K. Sharma, Deepak performed in plays like Aksar Maine Socha Hai, Hamaar Babuji Ki Chhatri, and Aao Saathi Sapna Dekhen.
Film
Deepal Dobriyal made his acting debut in 2003 with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool in which he played the role of Thapa.
Deepak Dobriyal in Maqbool
In 2006, he played the role of Rajju Tiwary in the Hindi-language crime drama Omkara. The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Othello. He then played small roles in Hindi films like Shaurya (2008), Delhi-6 (2009), Gulaal (2009), and Daayen Ya Baayen (2010). Deepak gained popularity by playing the role of Pappi in the Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama Tanu Weds Manu, starring R. Madhavan and Kangna Ranaut in the lead roles.
Thereafter, he appeared in several box-office hits including Dabangg 2 (2012), Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015), Lucknow Central (2017), and Laal Kaptaan (2019). In 2015, he reprised the role of Pappi in the sequel of Tanu Weds Manu and won various awards for his performance. He played the role of Shyam Prakash in the film Hindi Medium; Released in 2017, the film is a comedy-drama written and directed by Saket Chaudhary and starred Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar in the lead roles. In 2020, Dobriyal played the role of Gopi Bansal in Angrezi Medium, a standalone sequel to the 2017 film Hindi Medium.
Deepak Dobriyal in Angrezi Medium
A year later, he starred in ZEE5’s film Aafat-E-Ishq in which he played the role of Vikram Kamal. In 2019, he made his Marathi film debut with the film ‘Baba’ as Madhav. Set up in a small village in Maharashtra, Baba is a heart-warming story of a deaf and dumb couple, who adopts a normal child and does their best to raise the child. However, things take a different turn when the child’s well-to-do biological mother comes back to take custody of her son.
Deepak Dobriyal as Madhav in the Marathi film Baba
In 2023, Deepak played the role of Ashwatthama (Aashu) in the action thriller Bholaa. The film is a remake of the Tamil film ‘Kaithi’ and stars Tabu, Deepak Dobriyal, Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Mishra, and Gajraj Rao in pivotal roles.
Deepak Dobriyal as Ashu in Bholaa
Other Work
Besides acting, Deepak has performed at various live shows. In March 2023, he graced The Kapil Sharma’s show as a celebrity guest along with Ajay Devgn and Tabu to promote their film Bholaa.
Deepak Dobriyal on the sets of The Kapil Sharma Show to promote Bholaa
Awards
- Filmfare Award for Special Performance for the film Omkara (2007)
- Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for the film Tanu Weds Manu (2012)
- International Indian Film Academy Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role for the film Tanu Weds Manu: Returns (2016)
- BIG Star Entertainment Award for Most Entertaining Actor in a Comedy Role (Male) for the film Tanu Weds Manu: Returns (2016)
- Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for the film Tanu Weds Manu: Returns (2016)
- Times of India Film Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for the film Tanu Weds Manu: Returns (2016)
- MATA Sanman (2021)
Deepak Dobriyal holding his Mata Sanman 2021 trophy
- OTT Play Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for Good Luck Jerry (2022)
Deepak Dobriyal giving a thanks speech after receiving an award
Favourites
- Playwright: Anton Chekhov
- Sport(s): Cricket, Football
- Footballer: Sunil Chhetri
Facts/Trivia
- Deepak Dobriyal loves travelling, watching movies, and listening to music in his leisure time.
- An avid animal lover, Deepak has a pet dog named Jhumroo.
Deepak Dobriyal’s pet dog Jhumroo
- Deepak loves to play the casio.
Deepak Dobriyal playing the casio
- He admires Sonam Wangchuk.
- During his school days, Deepak was not so good at subjects like maths and economics.
- His friends and family members fondly call him Deepu.
- In 2002, Deepak played a cameo in the Bollywood film Dil hai Tumhara.
- In an interview, while sharing an interesting incident from his school days, Deepak said,
When I was in class 11, a boy used to take attendance of hundreds of children gathered in the prayer ground, whose roll number he spoke, the child of that roll number used to get up and sit. It is obvious that the child taking attendance had a lot of pride! So, one day when he himself was absent PT Sir on the instigation of my friends entrusted me with the responsibility of taking attendance. These were the friends who knew that I copy many behind their backs! Well, seeing so many children in front of me, my legs started shaking. But at first out of fear, then from the next day I started liking this job very much. Now that other people started considering me as talented, my facial expression also started changing. That’s where I felt I could act!”
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
