Son of 'Hanuman' going places too — but with the ball

Remember Jai Hanuman, the hugely popular TV series that began airing in 1997 and spanned over 150 episodes?

While Raj Premi, the actor who portrayed the character of Hanuman in the series, travelled places — quite literally — with a mace in reel life, his son Dev is set to do so in real life, albeit with a basketball in hand.

The 13-year-old boy was among the 10 boys and girls picked to represent India at the second Jr. NBA Global Championship to be held in Florida in August. A total of 32 teams from around the globe will take part in the event for the most promising 13- and 14-year-old basketball players in the world.

Dev, and his Vibgyor school-mate Riccha Ravi — who is part of the girls team — are the only two from Mumbai who made the final cut among the 40 shortlisted players in the selection camp at the NBA Academy in Noida.

Unlike his father, who played university level cricket before giving up the sport to pursue acting professionally, Dev got hooked to basketball. However, it wasn't before he turned nine that he, and Raj, realised that.

"He used to play football in school," Raj said. "But during monsoons, he would get quite dirty and it would irritate him. So, one day he came home and said, 'Dad I don't want to play football'. I told him fine, but play something else. That's how he turned to basketball, because his elder brother was also playing it in school."

And Dev took to the sport like fish to water.

Within a span of four years, the boy ticked multiple boxes: he captained the U-13 Maharashtra team in the Nationals and won them the bronze in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, last year; he represented the state and his school in various U-17 tournaments; he was selected for the government's Khelo India initiative.

"He won the best player award for an U-11 MSSA tournament, and his coach there told me he hadn't seen a boy of that age run faster with the ball," Raj recalled.

Such assurances made Raj push his son into shaping a career in basketball, and not let him venture into anything even remotely close to his profession of acting.

"I've been a TV actor for 25 years. An actor's life is colourful but only when there is work. If there's no work, it's a struggling life. So, I never forced my kids into acting. But what I did insist was on them playing an outdoor sport," Raj said.

Playing sport might have been forced upon him but Dev is as passionate about basketball as he is about buying a pair of special Michael Jordan series shoes.

"He has to attend his school's training at 5.30am every day. And he himself wakes up at 5 for that, we don't have to wake him up. At his age, for someone to do that, you have to have that keeda (fire) in you," Raj said.

Speed with the ball and passing skills are Dev's USP, while he stands at 5'9'', which is moderate by basketball standards. And just like his son's height, Raj is keeping his dreams in check.

"I have no expectations that he will go play in the NBA. I have only one aim, that he should wear India jersey even at the senior level.

"Basketball is no cricket. We don't know what is the future of basketball in the country. At present, I don't see one. At best, if he plays for India, he can land a job with some company like Railways, Air India, etc," Raj said.

As for Dev himself, he can't wait to rub his shoulders with the cream of young talented cagers from the world over.

"My aim has always been to play for India and my dream has come true. I'm going to leave it all out on the court and I'll play hard to make my parents, coaches and country proud. This is a very big opportunity for me," Dev said.

Favourite NBA Player

Dev Premi’s favourite NBA player is Allen Iverson. Why? “Because of his handling skills and also because he has put in a lot of work to reach at that level,” Dev said. He’s also a great person off the court. He helps younger hoopers become the best version of themselves. He is also very humble off the court and aggressive on the court,” the youngster added.