MEERUT: Dev Vishwakarma, 23, is a gym trainer by the day in Delhi. Not far from where Dev sweats it out every day, Priyanka Sharma, 22, teaches salsa at a dance academy. One has got the cuts and the other moves. They are both new-age youths with headphones plugged into ears during most living hours. That’s through the day though. By the evening, they descend at the Ramlila ground to play Lord Ram and Sita. Pawan Mishra, 21, who recently quit his job with a private telecom operator to be part of the Ramlila, joins them as Lakshman. The crowds are cheering for these new-age actors and the organisers are ecstatic over the overwhelming response.Dev, who plays the role of Ram, said, “After I completed my class XII, I got into exercising and eventually started doing photo shoots for advertisements. I started acting in 2015 and my first role, too, was that of Ram. It was around the same time that I started working as a gym trainer. Exercising in the gym keeps me in good shape and it helps me feel confident about myself as an actor too.” Dev doesn’t have any professional degree in acting or dancing but his talent was noticed after he got in touch with Shrimat Srijan Group – an acting group from Delhi.The same group had performed a musical Ramayana at Kaun Banega Crorepati show in 2011. The group focuses on classical music during the Ramlila and tries to stick to the tradition as much as possible, said Harish Khantwal, director of the Ramlila.Priyanka Sharma, 22, who has appeared as a dancer in videos with rapper Raftaar learnt dance from Mumbai-based Terence Lewis Professional Training Institute. “I know almost all dance forms, including classical, western and free style. But I love salsa the most. My family has been very supportive of my acting and I am glad to be a part of this event here,” Priyanka said.Pawan Mishra, who plays Lakshman, left his job with a private telecom operator to be here. “It is my first time as an actor. I came in touch with the acting group a month ago, and that is when I realised that it needed more attention that I thought. Hence, I left my job. Now, I plan to pursue a professional degree in acting after I am done with Ramlila and follow it as my profession,” Pawan told TOI.

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