Who’s That? Straight Talking with the Sprite boys

The first thing that you notice about Raaj Seluja and Kavin Dave is the chemistry they share. In fact, it is almost as if they have stepped out of the Sprite commercials they star in. The duo has appeared in four Sprite commercials, will appear in at least three more and both signed a year’s contract with the brand. Are they the natural actors they seem to be?

Seluja is the ‘newcomer’ who entered the world of ‘acting’ a couple of years ago. Dave is a ‘veteran’ and has acted since childhood featuring in the Hajmola Candy and Nutrine Coconut Cookies ads. He also acted in serials such as Junoon, Filmy Chakkar (as Satish Shah and Ratna Pathak’s elder son) and Jai Hanuman (where he played young Ravan and Hanuman).

While Dave is an out-and-out Mumbaiker, Seluja comes from Kolkata where he “did a bit of theatre” and ran a dance academy, Astra, with 400 students on its rolls. As many before him, he came to Mumbai to pursue acting. He was also a wild card entry from Kolkata for Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj in the 2006- 2007 season.

Seluja’s first ad was for McDonald’s France (shot in Hindi, the ad was dubbed in French for that market where the company was launching the Mac Maharaja) followed by ads for Bajaj Allianz, Bru and Virgin Mobile. He will also be seen in ads for Titan Eye Plus and makemytrip.com. He’s also shooting for Tum Mile in Hindi and a bilingual (Hindi and Marathi) on the life of Shivaji. Seluja wants to focus on acting and believes that ads give an actor quick mileage.

Both are full of praise for Vinil Mathew, who directed the Sprite commercials. Mathew gave them the creative freedom which helped them develop a rapport that shows clearly on screen.

And in real life too.

(Who's that? is an effort to highlight the lesser known talents from the advertising, media and marketing industry.)