A man from Uttarakhand, interested in acting since childhood and a Bruce Lee fan, saw a meteoric rise, catapulting him into the league of the elites in China. Dev Raturi was born in 1976 in Kemriya-saur, a small village in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal. According to his website, his father was a farmer. Dev developed an interest in movies from an early age and wanted to follow the footsteps of his hero. He ran away to Mumbai and auditioned for a role in 1998 but failed.
That did not discourage Mr Raturi from pursuing his dream. However, it took more than a decade for his first film to release.
In 2005, he moved to China and worked as a waiter in an Indian restaurant. He worked for two years in Shenzhen and drew 1650 Yuan as his first salary.
Mr Raturi learned Chinese and within two years, became the manager of a restaurant in Beijing. He climbed the ladder fast and opened a chain of restaurants in several Chinese cities like Xi'an, Beijing and others.
Mr Raturi's dream came true in 2016 when he appeared in a Chinese movie Special Swat, though in a small negative role. From there, doors of the Chinese film industry opened for Mr Raturi.
"A Chinese filmmaker visited my restaurant. He was looking for a location to shoot and an actor for a low-budget online movie. I readily offered to act," he told CGTN Digital a few years ago. "I never forgot about my dream."
By 2019, he had bagged prominent roles in several Chinese movies. He also appeared in Chinese television series 'Republic of China Agent' as a detective, and 'Big Harbour' as chief of police.
Mr Raturi became so famous that his story was made a part of Class 7 English textbook in Xi'an City, as per CGTN. The section on Mr Raturi talks about his inspirational rags-to-riches story.
