Divyenndu is not an actor you see and forget. The actor who won the Screen Award for Best Male Debut for Pyaar Ka Punchnama made a big noise for himself with the portrayal Nishant “Liquid” Agarwal. It’s been over a decade and there has been no looking back ever since. But while that was just the actor making a name for himself, the man of the moment achieved another feat where his character’s popularity has superseded his fame in the best ways possible. Yes, I’m talking about Munna bhaiya from Mirzapur that immortalized him and his work on the screen and minds of the viewers forever. We recently took Divyenndu on a ride along the crowded streets of Bombay and got more than we bargained for. Not only did he unpack the success of Mirzapur and speak the expectations and pressure for Mirzapur 3–including fan theories about Munna being alive and returning to kick ass but–he also revealed how it happened and how it feels to live through a cultural reset in series-making. For it turns out there is a rub off, some of part of Munna that has stayed with him even today.

But it took a while because the tour began from his early days of arriving in the city and braving auditions only to find out that he is not cut from the same cloth. Only to realize that, with his film-school education and theatre background, he can’t stand the economics of commercial ad films and the acting without art he was expected to do. But as fate would have it, he did give and crack an audition that would lead him to become arguably the first viral star (the Virgin mobile ad). It took a decade for him to ‘arrive’ onto the billboards in Bombay but it has been a rewarding journey, he reassures. Because now he is thrilled to break the image of Munna that he took extra care to carve and one he gave his all in passing the litmus test; to rediscover better fits and angles as a creative person. It is a continuous complex journey an artist must endure.

So what’s next for him? Divyenndu wants to play a vampire. That and an old-school detective. He is also itching to write and wants to tell stories as a director as well. Don’t worry we didn’t let him go without asking him his favourites; he answers while gorging on some samosas and you’ll have to see it to believe it. He is also fascinated by the Bombaiya language as are others and enacts a few. It’s a performance alright. Watch all that and more here.

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Cover Image: Bhavya Poonia/Mashable India