Meet Viivek Mashru, the CID guy going viral: I was originally signed for 3 months in CID, ended up at 6 years

‘If you know him, your childhood was awesome’ as the caption, and his pic were enough to send social media into a nostalgic overdrive. Viivek Mashru, who played the role of Inspector Vivek in the cult show CID, is overwhelmed ever since he went viral.

“My wife, who is an English teacher, told me about my picture going viral. I had never thought this would happen to me, you always see it happening to other people. I am humbled,” he exclaims. And what shocked many is a tweet claiming he has become a professor in a Bangalore university now.

Well, not technically, he clears the air. “I am flattered they think that. I oversee the function of an entire department in the university, it’s a leadership position. I am transitioning out of that too now in July, and getting into launching new schools,” he tells us.

He had quit acting in June, 2012, and it’s been an exact 11 years since he looked back. How he got into CID and stayed there for a whopping six years is also something he brings up. “I had trained under Kishore Namit, and then my mom told me that the makers of CID are looking out for an officer’s role. They had an all India competition ‘Operation Talaash’. I auditioned and was selected. My nana-nani were ardent fans of the show, and watched it diligently. Just before my casting was announced, my nana passed away, I was very emotional,” he shares.

The original contract of Mashru was only for three months, but the show’s creator would keep extending it, and it ended up being for six years.

Then one fine day he decided to quit acting, and went on backpacking across the Indian Himalayas. After coming back, he decided to ‘upgrade’ himself, and completed his higher education from Singapore– Master’s in International Business. One thing led to another, and he ended up even being a wedding planner for his cousin sister’s wedding, overseeing his father’s business, and working with an NGO. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Data Science and Business Analytics.

The transition though, from being an actor to a common person, was tough, admits Mashru. “From being an actor where there’s so much adulation- toll naake pe they would not take tolls from me, if I ever broke a signal the police would stop me, realise I am in CID, salute and let me go after an autograph, if I went to Shirdi, they would take me for VIP darshan… to then travelling normally by bus, waiting in queues, the transition was difficult.- But by God’s grace I had a good ecosystem,” he tells us.