Dev Raturi: 44-year-old from Uttarakhand is a film star in China

Dev Raturi, 44, from a small village of Kemsiya-Saur in Tehri Garhwal district, about 120 km from Dehradun, is an ardent Bruce Lee fan. However, little did he know that he would make it into the Chinese film industry and will walk in the footsteps of his childhood hero.

Born to a farmer family in 1976, a class 10 dropout, he moved to Delhi for work to be able to support his family in the village.

In 1998, he tried his luck in Bollywood without any success. He returned again to Delhi, did some odd jobs and learnt martial arts.

He then decided to move to China in 2005 and worked as a waiter in an Indian restaurant in Beijing.

Narrating his journey from a waiter to a film star in China, Raturi, in a e-mail interview, said, "I worked as a waiter for two years and then in 2007 was made a manager in a German restaurant. Gradually I learned professional skills and was appointed area director in a hospitality chain in 2010."

Got his break in Chinese film industry in 2016

He returned to India in 2011 to get married. Once back in China again, he opened his own Indian restaurant named Red Fort in Xi'an city of Shaanxi province in 2013.

"Following that, I opened my second restaurant in 2015. Then the following year, I finally got my break in the film industry, when I got a chance to play a small role of an Indian character in a Chinese film named Special SWAT. It was a negative role but from then onwards, there was no turning back," said Raturi.

He said that his work was appreciated in the film which opened doors for him for more roles in the Chinese films, TV and web series.

"I have now worked in over 20 films, TV and web series till date while playing various roles like police officer, astronaut, special forces officer and doctor. A film named Mercenaries was a superhit while a TV series named My Roommate is a Detective was the most liked web series in China in 2020," said Raturi.

His other works included The Ark, Street Rebirth, Sword Front Warrior and The Trapped.

Celebrate Indian culture in China

Living in China for the last 15 years, Raturi said that he still hasn't forgotten his "Pahad" and India ande tries to make the Chinese people aware of his country's culture and festivals by organising various cultural events at his eight restaurants across China.

"I have been provided ample opportunities in China and never faced any antagonism by the Chinese people even during last year's border scuffle," said Raturi.

He added that he would want to work in a joint movie venture between Indian and Chinese film industries one day.

"I want that movie to show the culture of both the countries. As a gesture of giving back something to my country, I also want to make an investment of about ₹500 crore in India, especially in my state of Uttarakhand," said Raturi.