MUMBAI :Ankur Rathee is known for his performances in movies like The Tashkent Files, Thappad, Four More Shots Please, Undekhi, and others. He was last seen in Shehzada which starred Kartik Aaryan in the lead role.
TellyChakkar interacted with Ankur and spoke to him about when he decided to become an actor, his struggling days and more...
When did you decide that you want to become an actor?
Since I was a kid, I was drawn to stage, to dancing, acting and singing. During my high school, I started doing musical theatre; it was for the first time where I got to do all three things together. Somewhere along the way, I started giving more time to performing arts and acting when I moved to New York City. I got a job but along with that I started acting, started doing commercials. So, I started my career as an actor in New York, but I was working full time. I would work from 8 am to 6 pm, and then from 7 pm to 12 am I would go for my rehearsals or something else. Then my parents came to visit me and I thought that they would be proud of me that I am working as well as I am an actor. But, then my dad told me, 'what are you doing?’. You can’t have one leg here and one leg there. He told me to quit my job, and then I moved to India. He gave me the courage to pursue this career.
You are good looking and talented, so during your struggling days, was it easy for you to get work or was it difficult?
No, it was not easy. You are in India or the US, it’s never easy. It’s a career where you face constant rejections and sometimes rejections come five times a week; you have to really grow a thick skin. Earlier days were also challenging because I wasn’t that talented at that time, I was still a very immature actor, I didn’t have much experience.
Actors who don’t have a filmi-family background have spoken that many times they were replaced by a star kid in a project. Have you faced such a thing in your career till now?
Yes, all the time. But, it’s a business decision, and I don’t interfere in all these things. My work is to audition and many times I get down to the final 2, me and someone else, and they go with the person who has got the bigger surname or who is more famous even if I am better for the job. Many times I have lost the role to someone just because of who they were or what their last name was. But, that’s a part of the economics of filmmaking right. So, producers want to hire actors who already have a fan following and name recognition. I don’t take it personally, but sometimes because of the decision they make, the film suffers.
Also Read: Shehzada actor Ankur Rathee says, “I want to do something in the romantic-comedy space” – Exclusive
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