No, we’re not talking about a new mobile service, but we’re definitely talking about an exciting third generation launch! Dev Goel, the dynamic and dashing grandson of celebrated filmmaker Devendra Goel and son of Producer-Director Jyotin Goel will soon face the camera for Goel Screencraft’s upcoming film, ‘Pri and Me’. And what’s even more interesting is that he’s following in the footsteps of not just anyone, but Hollywood superstar Sylvester Stallone!
A fascinating and completely overlooked titbit is that Stallone himself wrote his debut film, the immortal Rocky! Coincidentally, Dev has also penned his debut script himself. So is being a writer-actor the secret for success? Well, as far as Rocky is concerned, it went on to rewrite box-office records, not just in America, but worldwide, transforming Stallone into a global star almost overnight. And if you ask us, history looks set to repeat itself!
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As the third generation in the Goel family to enter the Hindi film industry, Dev certainly has a lot of expectations riding on him. His family’s production houses, Goel Screencraft and Goel Cine Corporation have been producing films since 1948, making it one of the oldest production houses in India! With a rich legacy of golden and silver jubilee hits such as ‘Ek Phool Do Mali’, ‘Dus Lakh’, ‘Aadmi Sadak ka’, and ‘Inaam Dus Hazaar’ as well as classic songs such as ‘Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai’, ‘Chanda mama door ke’, ‘Garibon ki suno’, ‘Hum bhi agar bachche hote’, you can literally feel the weight of history on him to produce a blockbuster. Of course, Dev seems pretty prepared to face the limelight.
His passion for films and film-making is evident from the moment we sat with him. “I’ve grown up on film sets. It almost feels that I have reels running through my body instead of veins,” he jokes. In fact, Dev faced the camera at only the age of 6, making a special appearance as Sanjay Dutt’s son in the hit film ‘Zahreelay’. Moreover, he was admitted to Florida State University Film School, one of the best in the world, which admits just 15 candidates each year out of thousands of applicants! After graduating with honours in the US, Dev returned, eager to pursue his passion. While honing his acting abilities, Dev also exercised his writing skills, leading to the script of ‘Pri and Me’ and thereby putting him in the company of Stallone.
“It’s unusual that I seem to be following the career path of a legend like Stallone, but if I am, I’m proud to call him my guru!” says Dev. “If I can become even one percent as successful as him, it’ll be a job well done.”
In our opinion, he doesn’t need to worry about that! So, while it seems that the telecom industry is placing its bets on profits from 3G technology, it’s likely that with Dev, the film industry is all set to do the same with its very own 3G!
