What is Rishabh Chaddha, who plays Sam in ‘Drishyam’, doing today? Know the complete story of his acting career, offers received after ‘Drishyam’, funny stories of school principal and his journey of storytelling.
In 2015, a boy went missing… his name was Sameer Deshmukh, whom everyone knows as Sam in the film. His death gave such a turn to the story that ‘Drishyam’ became one of the most popular suspense thriller films of Hindi cinema. But after the death of Sam in the story, Vijay Salgaonkar may have overturned the entire case, but Rishabh Chadha, who played the character of Sam in real life, wrote a different story of his own after this character.
After 11 years, the last chapter of ‘Drishyam’ franchise has also arrived. Sam may not have got closure in the film story, but Rishabh Chaddha is now moving beyond acting and making his mark in the world of storytelling and poetry.
Mother and Shahrukh made me an actor
Rishabh Chaddha, born in the year 1994, was first inspired by his mother to become an actor. After this Shahrukh Khan became the biggest inspiration for him. Rishabh understood one thing after seeing Shahrukh that if some different and risky characters are done in the beginning then it can be easy to create an identity. Perhaps this was the reason why he did not refrain from doing negative roles in his career. And then came that character, which made him a household name, Sam.
Started acting while studying in school
Rishabh’s acting career started at a very young age. In 2007, he appeared in the role of Nanhe in the TV show ‘Aladdin’. At that time he was studying in school and along with studies, he was also acting.
After this, in 2011 he worked in Disney’s show ‘Best of Luck Nikki’. It was the Indian adaptation of the American show ‘Good Luck Charlie’. After this, Rishabh worked in some more projects of Disney and soon the path to films also opened.
Big break in films with ‘Khoobsurat’
In 2014, Rishabh played the role of Sonam’s brother Kabir in Sonam Kapoor and Fawad Khan’s film ‘Khoobsurat’. However, before this he had also appeared in a small role in Akshay Kumar and John Abraham’s ‘Desi Boys’.
But the real identity was still pending.
Then came ‘Drishyam’ and became Sam
In ‘Drishyam’ released in 2015, Rishabh Chaddha played the role of Sameer Deshmukh i.e. Sam. In the film, Sam is a spoiled rich boy who harasses Vijay Salgaonkar’s daughter Anu and threatens her over her MMS.
After this, a rod comes into the story… Sam dies… and then Vijay Salgaonkar’s game begins, after watching which the audience also starts wondering how the police will reach the truth? The interesting thing is that Rishabh’s character did not last long in the film, but his impact lasted so long that even after 11 years, people remember him by the name of Sam.
What did the principal say on stage after ‘Drishyam’?
After the release of ‘Drishyam’, Rishabh was invited as a guest in a school function. When he reached the stage to address the children, the school principal made a funny joke related to the film. The principal told Rishabh, “It is better if you keep your phone inside. It was the same phone and MMS reference, due to which the entire story of Sam in the film begins. That is, in real life, Rishabh had to listen to jokes on the school stage about the same character who had troubled people on screen.
Line of offers started after ‘Drishyam’
After ‘Drishyam’, Rishabh started getting more work than before. People started seeing him as a serious actor and he started getting offers for many negative roles. But Rishabh did not accept to be confined to the same type of characters. He did not want to be typecast. After this he worked in different genres like horror, comedy and drama. In 2018, he was seen in ‘Lupt’. Apart from this, he also made his presence felt on TV and OTT.
Seen more on TV and OTT than in films
Rishabh worked in TV shows like ‘Kota Toppers’, ‘Aadat Se Majboor’. Apart from this, he was also seen in web series like ‘Shaadi Boys’, ‘Boys with Toys’, ‘Bhoot Purva’, ‘Illegal’ and ‘Will you do anything for divorce’. It is said that he has also been a part of more than 150 TV advertisements. But despite all this, his identity is still most linked to one character, Sam.
Now storytelling and poetry ahead of acting
Rishabh had said in an interview that if he had not been an actor, he would have wanted to become a storyteller. Perhaps now he is living his second dream also. These days he is working more on storytelling and poetry. These days he is working more on storytelling and poetry. He also has a rom-com storytelling setup named ‘Modern Majnu’. He is more visible on social media through his stories and poems rather than films.
But Sam of ‘Drishyam’ does not leave him even today.
People often remind him in the comment section of his social media posts. “Sam Bhai, you have not got justice yet. Vijay Salgaonkar may have ended Sam’s story in the film… but for the audience, Sam’s story is probably not completely over even today.