Face Off

Age?
Twenty-seven. And unlike the rest of this youth-obsessed city he has no problems owning up to it.
Married?
No. And there8217;s no special woman in his life.
So, is it safe to assume that he is quite the man about town?
Yes and no. You may not see Parvin Dabas partying the night away but his face can be seen in what seems like almost every other ad. He8217;s the split personality in the Peter England quot;honestquot; shirt ads, the toothy grin in the Colgate toothpaste ad, the loving boyfriend in the Titan and Limca ads. And soon, he will be seen on the silver screen in a negative role in Sunny Deol8217;s much-delayed project London.
So where did this very-popular face pop up from?
This Delhi-born, US-brought up that explains the nasal twang came to the capital as a 14-year-old. And immediately jumped on to stage and started acting in amateur, kiddy productions.
Are we talking about an in-born talent, here?
Not really. He was put on stage as Samrat Ashoka adance ballet without dialogue. Which was fine by him as he was a real loner.
How did this private person make his first public appearance?
After that ballet, he did join a dramatics society but only to quot;check out the girlsquot;. After a few plays, he forgot the girls and found a new passion in theatre.
So much so, that he decided he must pursue it professionally.
Parvin went to the American Academy of Dramatics Art, New York. Where other than study acting he did everything from sitting behind a cash register, to being a tele-marketer to hosting at a restaurant. Living taught him things no school could. quot;I did n8217; number of jobs to make a living. Not having any money is fun a lot of times.quot;
Geared up with an American degree, he came back to Delhi and set up a theatre group.
quot;If I had been in my right mind, I would have never done it. But then you are so full of ideas when you are young that you cannot think straight.quot; His Urban Theatre Group did five plays, which didn8217;t dowell. After which he got bored and decided to move on.
So, he moved on to Mumbai and hopped on to the small screen. Literally. He was the odd-man in an aerobics show on ATN.
Yes. Three women and Parvin would sweat it out under the arc lights lifting legs and arms to the tune of one, two, three8230; quot;Even while doing it I had a feeling that I am going to regret it later. But there was this girl in it who was my best friend, so I agreed to be on the show. It took me a long time to live that down.quot; But what the show did was knock off some of his extra kilos. quot;I really love to eat and tend to put on weight easily.quot;
Well, that worked in his favour and he finally did get noticed, right?
Yes. He was working with Raell Padamsee8217;s Little Actor8217;s Club when he landed two TV serials A Mouthful of Sky and Tanaav. He did not set the idiot box ablaze but the ad world noticed his clean-cut good looks. His first big break was the Brooke Bond A-1 tea ad with Mukul Anand.
After that the adswouldn8217;t stop but the serials seem to have dried up.
He was seen last in an episode of Saturday Suspense. And that8217;s itquot;Being a lazy guy, I preferred ad work it8217;s less work and more pay.quot; And that gives him the funds to do theatre. Parvin was in Vikram Kapadia8217;s Romeo and Juliet and worked with people like Sabira Merchant for a play reading of Goa.
If he8217;s so picky, then what on earth was he doing in the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan8217;s video wearing a designer dhoti. Parvin was prancing around with a girl garbed in a zip-up tribal outfit the entire video was minus a storyline.
quot;I admire Nusrat8217;s work and wanted to be a part of it. Even if it meant that I had to roam about in a dhoti in the coldest parts of Kodaikanal. The villagers there, covered in blankets, thought that I had really lost it.quot; Well, video viewers could not agree more.
Speaking of which, has he completely lost it by joining Bollywood or is there a well-planned career chart that he is following? Parvin is not allowed todiscuss his role in the jat8217;s film but he is very excited by his onscreen debut. Beyond that, he doesn8217;t give his career another thought.
quot;I don8217;t really have any plans. I take life as it comes.quot;
Since he doesn8217;t seem very business oriented, how does he spend his leisure time?
Like most people born under the Cancer zodiac sign, that depends on the moon, sorry, his mood. When he8217;s in the mood, he loves to party and plan trips. When not, he prefers to withdraw into his shell and watch TV.
What is this sometime recluse most likely to say?
quot;You know, what I mean.quot;
And least likely to say?
quot;Shut up and leave8230;quot;