The character of Dhairya Rana in the second season of Masaba Masaba feels too good to be true. The kind, soft-spoken man, who puts his ladylove’s needs above his own, is a much-required change from the macho heroes we see on screen. So, when his love story with Masaba Gupta took centre-stage in the Netflix show, people lapped it up. Today, as Neil Bhoopalam is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor: Series category at the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards, he says the makers’ intent impressed him. 

“There has been an evolution since the times of Raj and other [romantic heroes] 20 years ago. Having said that, human emotions have remained the same. At first, Dhairya looks too good to be true. But characters [are made believable] by good writing. With him, the team wanted to build a new romantic hero,” he begins. For the actor, his character’s reserved nature was initially difficult to crack, as it was at odds with his real-life personality. Bhoopalam elaborates, “Dhairya will choose the right time to voice his opinion; he will wait patiently for it. I, however, share my views [immediately].”