In late 80s and 90s Deepak Malhotra rose to prominence as one of the most recognisable faces on runways and in television commercials. His striking looks and modeling status quickly led to a wave of film offers. However Deepak took his time considering his choices carefully. Ultimately he turned down a leading role in Rajiv Mehras Chamatkar (1992) in favour of a smaller supporting part in Yash Chopras Lamhe (1991). Deepak made a striking presence on-screen but his debut failed to win over critics. Many panned his performance and felt he lacked a strong screen voice. Yet longer before the age of viral clips one brief scene managed to grab everyones attention- for all the wrong reasons. In a scene lasting barely eight seconds Deepak repeatedly calls out Pallo in attempt to wake a sleeping Sridevi. However his flat delivery and slight accent made him the target of endless jokes. The backlash was so bad that it led to Deepak being replaced by Sunny Deol in another Yash Chopra project Darr. It was also rumoured that he missed out on roles in the 1992 films Suryanvanshi Bekhudi and Junoon with Salman Khan Saif Ali Khan and Rahul Roy taking over those parts. After Lamhe Deepak also starred as a lead in N. Chandra’s Tejasvini playing the love interest of Urmila Matondkar’s character but his performance was bashed yet again. And this was the last time he was ever seen on the silver screen. Reports claim that his stiff acting and too international appeal were the factors that hindered his acting career. Following Tejasvini’s failure in 1994 Deepak Malhotra withdrew himself from the public eye. He changed his name to Dino Martelli and moved to US where he continued his modelling career but still remained out of the spotlight.