What is the first thing a management graduate does? Prays for a plum job, right? Wrong in the case of at least one Wellingkar Institute's product. Tushar Dalvi, the Mr in Mrs Madhuri Dikshit (Zee TV) was so unenthusiastic about the business world, he turned his back on it.He wanted to be an actor. Passionately. Even while he was still a student of the R A Podar College of Commerce and Economics. After a stint with Citibank , he realised that serious acting would be impossible if he took up a full time executive job. "It was one of those times when one has to decide one way or the other," says Tushar. And he decided upon acting.He was in the right city and the right college: Podar College is steeped in dramatics and experimental Marathi theatre happened easily to him. Known for his sensitive portrayals on stage and in Marathi TV serials, the exposure helped him land a part in the Marathi film, Jeevalaga. Yet, no star was born. Fortunately for Tushar, the TV boom happened along. His focus shifted to the larger platform of Hindi serials. But what happened to the more obvious route that leads hopefuls to Hindi cinema? "I didn't quite meet people on a priority and the roles that were offered to me didn't have any substance," he reveals.Nevertheless, a television actor was born. Mriganayani was Tushar's first TV assignment. There followed roles in Yule Love Stories and Yeh Hui Na Baat. But Tushar Dalvi made his TV breakthrough reading letters, as an anchor of ZEE TV's response programme Daak Ghar. It was amongst the most popular programmes on the channel. Three years of anchoring, and the threat of being slotted loomed large before him. He was flooded with offers for anchoring. "I was fed up of anchoring and the monotony was killing. The channel, too, was looking at something new,'' says Tushar, ``So, it was a mutual parting." Moreover, it pained him when people said "Are, yeh acting bhi karta hai", when it should have been the other way round.Unlike many television actors, one doesn't see Tushar leaping out of the screen from every channel. Is this some deliberate and careful pussyfooting so as not to accept more work than he can handle? "It's not that I'm being flooded with offers from which I pick and choose one or two," replies Tushar, candidly, "But it is a fact that I accept only those roles that appeal to me in some way," he adds. His criteria is clear: the story must interest him and the character must grow with the story. Any dream role? "Roles that are neither totally white nor totally black. They should be real, none of us are black or white entirely in real life," he emphasises, philosopher-like. An actor who craves for meaty, meaningful `grey' roles generally looks at the theatre to slake his thirst. Tushar has done exactly that. He has begun rehearsing for an untitled project by Chandrakant Kulkarni (Gandhi Viruddh Gandhi) and Prashant Dalvi. But to satisfy the actor in him, Tushar has another option non-commercial Hindi cinema. His Bandh Jharokein is a fine example. Based on Shashi Deshpande's novel, The Dark Holds No Terrors, the film was screened at the recent film festival in Mumbai.As with most actors, cinema fascinates Tushar. No wonder then, that he is quite a regular at the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI). Which also means that Tushar Dalvi has a lot more to talk about than just TV and Mrs Madhuri Dikshit. This, despite the fact he has several other TV serials under production, though only Mrs Madhuri Dikshit is on air at the moment.Is he satisfied with his work, life, thus far ? He pauses. "I'm happy.'' Pause. ``Definitely. But satisfaction?'' Pause. ``That's another thing." As far as he is concerned, the best is still to come for Tushar Dalvi.
