Sumeet Vyas

Sumeet Vyas was born on July 27, 1983, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. His father B M Vyas, a National School of Drama pass-out, is a scriptwriter, and his mother Sudhu Vyas is a homemaker. Vyas has a younger sister Shruti, who is married to actor Namit Das. His father had to quit theatre and take up scriptwriting for financial stability. He had written scripts for many TV shows including ‘Discovery of India,’ ‘Chandragupta Maurya’ and ‘Maharana Pratap.’

Sumeet spent his childhood in Jodhpur. He never excelled in academics, and when he failed his 12th board exams, he quit his studies, and started looking for a job. That’s when he landed up as an apprentice in an editing studio. He is married to actress Shivani Tanksale, a Mumbai-based theatre artist, who is a well-known face in the advertisement world, and has also done a few Bollywood films.

Sumeet Vyas is an ardent supporter of theatre and enjoys working as a theatre artist. Although he has acted in some Bollywood films as strong supporting characters, he prefers calling himself a theatre artist. In the initial years of his career, Vyas was not keen on acting. On his father’s reference, he got a job as an apprentice in an editing studio. Later, he became an editor and edited many TV shows including ‘Rishtey.’ Once when Vyas watched his father’s play—Yahudi Ki Ladki—in Prithvi theatre, he was so impressed that he immediately quit his editing job, and shifted to Mumbai to pursue an acting and writing career.

Vyas' acting career started in 2000 with a theatre play. He was then 17, when he did a play for Nadira Zaheer Babbar’s theatre group called ‘Ekjute.’ He remained associated with the group for a year, and many a times he had no work and had to remain backstage or perform as a proxy actor, filling for other actors who were not present at rehearsals. To become more useful, he even learnt dholak and played for the troupe. Soon, Lady Luck smiled on him, and he started acting in, writing, and directing plays.

In 2002, Vyas faced the camera for the first time, when he acted in Chander Bhel’s Doordarshan serial ‘Woh Hue Na Hamare'. He, then a youth of 20 years, was paid around Rs 40,000 a month. He also acted in the popular TV show ‘Rehna Hai Teri Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein’ in 2009. After several rejections as a model, Vyas did his first ad film in 2007, for an insurance company, directed by Soojit Sircar. Later, he did many other advertisements.

In 2014, Vyas became popular as Mikesh in the web series called ‘Permanent Roommates.’ A story of a couple in a live-in relationship, ‘Permanent Roommates’ was one of the most-watched web series in India. While the first season focused on the couple’s struggles to know each other after a three-year long-distance relationship, the second season revolved around their families and pregnancy.

It is interesting to know how Vyas started his web series journey. Impressed by The Viral Fever (TVF) content, Vyas wrote to Arunabh Kumar—who launched TVF—that he was keen to be a part of TVF videos. The actor, who was then just doing a few side roles in movies and TV serials, had no idea that he would soon be called for an audition and selected for the series! Sumeet had also acted in the film ‘English Vinglish’ in 2012 alongside Sridevi. He has appeared in movies like Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Jashn,’ ‘Guddu Ki Gun,’ ‘Aurangzeb,’ and ‘Sabki Bajegi Band’ as well.