Actor Rajesh Kumar has been a part of landmark series on both television (Sarabhai vs Sarabhai) and the web (Kota Factory). He can now add theatrical films to the list, having played a supporting role in the blockbuster romantic drama Saiyaara. Starring newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, the film is directed by Mohit Suri. It debuted in July to mostly positive reviews, but shocked everybody with its box office performance. The movie recently crossed the Rs 400 crore milestone worldwide, and will probably pass the Rs 500 crore mark this weekend.
Rajesh Kumar is basking in the film’s success, heralding it as a much-needed return to the limelight. In an interview with Meri Saheli, he spoke about the film’s success, and his recent personal difficulties. Rajesh took to farming some years ago, and was hit with the harsh realities of the business. He went bankrupt, and at one point, had only Rs 2500 in his account and was Rs 2 crore in debt.
He said, “Bankruptcy, yes. The incoming and outgoing flow had gone for a toss. There was no incoming, and I had exhausted all my reserves because of the outgoing. I went under debt of Rs 2 crore. (Bankruptcy) is a big word, but definitely, I had that feeling with me for a long time. I was not able to generate money for survival also. This was definitely a phase.” Rajesh said that he wants to dispel the myth that farming is only undertaken by people who have no other options. He said that nobody these days dreams of becoming a farmer when they grow up, and he wants to change this mindset. He said that he relied on his family’s support when he wasn’t making any money himself.
Rajesh quit acting and took up farming in 2019, but he was immediately struck by a series of setbacks. First, the weather turned against him, and then, he had to contend with a pandemic. “Financially, I was on a slide. By the lockdown, I had used up my savings, and was literally bankrupt. I didn’t have anything in my pocket. I had huge loans, and that was adding to the pressure,” he told Rajshri Unplugged.
Things became so bad financially, Rajesh took up a role in a film called Binny and Family but couldn’t afford to buy his kids simple gifts. “I had just Rs 2,500 in my bank account when I was in the UK. I traveled back and forth twice during that 24-day shoot, but I couldn’t bring back even two chocolates for my kids,” he said in an interview with Dainik Bhaskar.
In an older interview with Galatta India, he said that farming made him a better actor. “Farming helped me become a better actor. Now, whenever my role demands emotions, I simply remember my farming days and tear up.” He laughed as he said, “I don’t have to visualise as an actor that my parents died or a friend died, I simply remember: ‘Arey yaar, khet mein aag lag gaya tha uss din (The farm caught fire the other day)’,” he said.
