I still have more to entertain my audience.

My acting career started in my primary school days. Little did I know then that I would be doing the same even after five decades. But my journey so far has been full of ups and down. Allow me to share my story.

I did my first role in a play at the age of eight years. It felt great to be the center of attraction. You know, the priceless moments when everyone is lost in watching you perform, and the lights on the stage are focused on you. I felt fascinated while experiencing those moments and aspired to explore more in the creative field.

In college, I joined the dramatic society and came across the theatre groups in Mandi House. It was a different experience there. Like earlier, I used to practice for 4 or 5 days and perform the act. But in Mandi House, I learned about the effort required to be a professional actor and perform an act.

During those days, I got a lot of chances to work on plays written by Piyush Misra (Piyush Bhai). Some of these plays were Mujhe Bhi Chand Chaiye, Khel-Khel Me, Gagan Damama etc. After doing theatre for around 2-2.5 years, I was pumped to move to Mumbai and rock the film industry, but God had other plans.

I still remember the day. It was on 3rd January 1997. I was returning home with my father. We were chit-chatting while he was driving. And somewhere around Botanical Garden, my father said, ‘Yaar meri tabiyat kharab ho rahi hai.’ He stopped the car, and we stepped out. He loosened his tie and waited a few minutes but still complained about the uneasiness.

I felt something was serious, so I made him sit in the car and rushed him to the emergency ward in a hospital nearby. While moving him on a stretcher, I noticed his eyes were closed. ‘Mujhe laga wo behosh hai.’ The doctor did the checkup and asked me, ‘Kaun hai?’ ‘Mere father hai,’ I replied. He inquired about some more details and said, ‘He is no more. You’ve bought him dead.’ I saw Papa, and it felt like he was sleeping and might wake up in a few minutes. But he was gone. He had left 15-20 minutes ago. ‘Mera bohot rone ka maan hua, lekin ro nahi paya. Socha agar mai hi kamjor pad gay to fir maa, 2 choti behno aur 1 chote bhai ko kaun sambhalega.’ We went home and did the last rituals with a heavy heart. The sudden death of Papa was shocking for everyone.

Then I decided to give up acting and focus on working and earning a stable income. I joined Phoenix shoe factory in Noida. My job was to count the shoes’ soles per the various colours and arrange them accordingly. But the manager noticed me and referred me to a job better suited to my educational qualifications. Things started to settle down slowly. I switched jobs and partnered a business with my brother, lekin maan nahi lag rha tha. Sochta tha kaha actor ban na tha aur mai kha water plant ke business me fasa hua hu. So, finally, business band kar diya, kyon ki acting hi karni thi.

So I restarted doing theatre from Act 1 Theatre Group after the long break of twelve years. The comeback in 2008 felt strange. I always desired to join National School of Drama (NSD), but after my father’s death, I hadn’t completed graduation. So I wasn’t eligible to join the prestigious institute. Moreover, a lot of actors from my time were well-settled in Mumbai. During my theatre days, Piyush bhai aur Manoj bhai ko stage me dheka tha, and now they had turned superstars. Unhe dhek ke khushi hoti thi lekin khud ki struggle abhi baki thi. I kept hustling, and now I’ve worked on some projects that have given me the trill I desired for my acting career. Working on Talvar was great, and then I acted in some projects like PK, Pataal Lok, Candy & Grahan, Badhaai Ho, Tandav, Flames and more…

I still have more to entertain my audience.

Delhi Stories is an emerging platform to feature inspirational, motivational, relatable and beautiful stories. Do you also have an interesting story like Raj Sharma?

Share with us We’ll feature it Dil Se..