Bengaluru boy, Gautam Sharma, says he was a “normal boy-next-door, loved the garden city and never dreamt of working from Mumbai.” Yet, destiny designed that he head to the city of dreams to follow his dreams.
“It was by chance that my elder sister registered me for Grasim Mr India contest along with my images.” And, after winning the regional round from Bengaluru, Gautam found himself “flooded with modelling assignments” in Mumbai so much that he felt “overwhelmed”. Soon he progressed to print ads and next he was offered multiple advertising shoots with Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, which again opened the doors to the world of television for him.
He was offered mythological serials where he played lead roles. The actor is most known for his role as king Dushyant in the TV series Shakuntala , followed by another mythological mega serial – Dwarakadheesh-Bhagwan Shree Krishn – where he plays Arjuna, and the most recent one being the non-fiction show Jamai Raja .
How easy was it to make a move from the glamorous Grasim Mr India to essaying mythological roles? “It was easy. I was in a happy space. My looks did suit the characters but I had to work on speaking the ‘pure’ Hindi’ which was also okay.”
About the medium of television, he says, “It is a creative fun and a good space to be in, but the content tends be a bit stagnant.”
Then he shares the fun part of being a part of mythological serials. “We had to drive out in our costumes – with crowns, painted faces and costumes – for press conferences. It was weird as people would stare down at us and we had a good laugh,” says Gautam, who is back in Bengaluru as he has taken a year’s break from his film career to focus on his other passion – biking.
Describing himself as an “obsessive biker” Gautam says, “the break was needed as the entertainment industry is very demanding. There comes a time when you realise people, moments, and things I’ve wanted to do since I was 15 – are also important. And I am able to bring in that balance.” Gautam shares that he learnt professional riding at California Super Bike School and is also a part of riding club, where he takes off on weekends on his Suzuki 1000 RR.
The actor says during the break he looks forward to wider options professionally. “ I am open to acting in Kannada films and serials and look forward to working in web series too for which talks are on.”
Besides keeping up his passion for biking, Gautam also aspires to be a multi-lingual actor.
