Deepak Adhikari (born 25 December 1982), known by his stage name Dev, is an Indian actor, producer, singer and screenwriter, known for his works in Bengali cinema[1] and more recently, a politician.

Directed by Ravi Kinagi, the film was critically unsuccessful, but was commercially successful and was quick to resurrect his career.

[citation needed] He made a comeback on the silver screen with Premer Kahini (2008), opposite Koel Mallick, his first with whom he went on to star with in numerous films.

Though he has delivered some critically acclaimed performances, Dev is often trolled for his poor accent and average acting skills.

[1] In an interview with The Times of India, Dev recalled that when his school was closed for summer, he went to the outdoors of Prahaar: The Final Attack with his father, where Nana Patekar was shooting.

After receiving his Diploma from BV Jawaharlal Nehru Institute Of Technology (Bharati Vidyapeeth) in Pune, in Computer Engineering, Dev returned to Mumbai and started his film career as an observer on the set of Abbas–Mustan's Taarzan: The Wonder Car.

[10] Dev made his acting debut with the 2005 film Agnishapath, directed by Prabir Nandi, opposite Rachana Banerjee.

He went to Mumbai, and, dedicated to improving himself, learned dance and trained under fight choreographer Aejaz Gulab (of Shootout at Lokhandwala and Mission Istaanbul fame).

Dev made a comeback to acting in director Raj Chakraborty's action-romance Challenge, opposite Subhashree Ganguly.

[13] The song was a remake of "Jibone ki Pabona," a track originally performed by Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee.

The film had an item number by Samidh and Rishi "Khokababu jaye, Lal juto paye", which was the entry song for Dev in the movie.

Produced by Surinder Films, this movie was the highest opener in Tollywood history before Challenge 2 was released in October 2012.

Paglu is highest in terms of earning T.R.P on Bengali television till date, having a T.R.P of 12.25 when it was telecast on Star Jalsha.

[19] As per Sree Venkatesh distribution head, Debasis Sarkar – "Paglu released in 166 theatres across Bengal in the first week.

[32] The film had an item number "Dance Maare Khokababu" which was the costliest song of Tollywood[33][34] till Challenge 2 released in October 2012, whose title track "Challenge nibi na sala" broke the record to become the costliest song till now made in Tollywood.

Though the former two films were commercial hits, with Khoka 420 and Rangbazz earning ₹8,000,000 and ₹9,000,000 respectively, the latter gave him a slight decree of critical success.

Made on a budget of ₹15,000,000 and shot in South Africa, the film met with critical and commercial success upon release.

"[35] His performance of a mute gangster in the 2016 action drama film Zulfiqar, earned him his second Filmfare Awards East 2017 nomination for Best Actor.

Dev next starred in Kamaleshwar Mukherjee directed Amazon Obhijaan, a sequel to the 2013 film Chander Pahar.

The historical sports drama film Golondaaj directed by Dhrubo Banerjee and produced under the banner of SVF was a blockbuster at box-office.

A family drama directed by Avijit Sen, the film received positive reviews and everyone's performance was praised, specially the bonding between Dev and Bandopadhyay.

In December he starred in Projapoti with Mithun Chakraborty, Mamata Shankar and Koushani Mukherjee in lead roles.

In 2024, he starred in the Srijit Mukherji directorial hostage thriller Tekka co-starring Rukmini Maitra and Swastika Mukherjee.

[39][40] In December 2024, he starred in the Soojit Dutta directorial action film titled Khadaan co-starring Jisshu Sengupta, Barkha Bisht and Idhika Paul.

[44] In November 2011, as a special appearance in Raj Chakraborty's serial Sobinoy Nibedon in Sananda TV, with a bevy of beauties wrapped around him, Dev showed his Romeo side, dancing to "Ami Romeo", "Khokababu jaye", "Gal mitthi mitthi bol" and "Paglu thoda sa karle romance".

[46][47] In April 2010 and again in December 2011, he entered as a special guest in Mirakkel Akkel Challenger, an Indian Reality Show on Zee Bangla hosted by Mir Afsar Ali and directed by Subhankar Chattopadhyay.

[54] He gave his maiden speech in the Lok Sabha after two years of winning the elections, in Bengali language regarding the implementation of Ghatal Master Plan.

In 2009, he made a cameo appearance in the item song "Pante tali" of Chirodini Tumi Je Amar directed by Raj Chakraborty and produced by Shree Venkatesh Films.

In the same year, he appeared in an additional item number "Jibone ki Pabona" in the film Jackpot, directed by Kaushik Ganguly.

[64] In addition to his films, he also endorses several brands, such as Vivel-ITC Limited,[65] Royal Stag,[66] Shricon TMT Bars,[67][68][69][70] Bakefresh Biscuits,[71] and the television channel Jalsha Movies.