Punjab boys gallop into Bollywood despite hurdles

An actor gets to role play several characters: Aryan Pal

An alumna of GGDSD College- 32 actor Aryan Pal, also did masters in theatre from Panjab University before moving to Mumbai. Initially, he started with episodic TV to gain experience and also worked with likes of

Balaji

. “I always wanted to be an actor,” says Aryan speaking to us in Chandigarh, “I find it very interesting profession for the fact that an actor gets to play and experience so many different characters, even ones you don’t relate to,” says Aryan who was actively involved in theatre during his graduation days.
With his parents always being supportive, Aryan difficulties started once he was in Mumbai. “I had meagre resources and almost no contacts in the city.” He adds, “Nobody can help you in Mumbai, except yourself. It is extremely difficult to build contacts especially when you don’t have a godfather in the industry. And it’s a permanent struggle there.”
Aryan, who is highly inspired by the work of Irfan Khan, KK Menon, and

Manoj Vajpayee

, says “My aim is to establish myself as a good actor to keep working hard and to never quit.”
He has also worked for a popular overseas Punjabi channel and recently wrapped up shooting for a Hindi film based on hockey.

Dyslexia didn’t stop Rahul from his passion
Born dyslexic, becoming an engineer was high achievement for Rahul Kapoor, who hails from Patiala. However, his heart was in acting and soon he gave up his job to pursue it, and landed TV shows

Sansani

and Savdhaan. Last year, Rahul got his filmy break in Vodka Dairies.

“I did engineering as my parents didn’t allow hobbies which I was interested in, dancing and drawing, to be pursued professionally,” says Rahul. Though later he managed to persuade his parents to allow him to go to Mumbai, his struggle was not easy.

“It is very difficult to reach this level without support,” says Rahul, “I left my job and moved to Mumbai despite no contacts, experience, and not even family support. Surviving Mumbai was tough. But I am glad I made it, and the only thing that kept me going was patience.” Besides, finances, demotivation from relatives also tried to impeded his growth. “My relatives would tell my parents that I am making a wrong decision, and should not leave my job for Mumbai.” -Parul Rana