Nasirr Khan: My father ‘Johnny Walker’ is a perfect example of having it all, letting it go and still having it all

Celebrities are often associated with a rich and lavish lifestyle. But people fail to see the other side to it. After all, life isn’t always easy for them. Agreeing, famous Bollywood and television actor Nasirr Khan shares that he too has been through rough patches in life. “In 2014, 6 years after leaving the industry when I was the Head of Operations for a US company, everything was going good then suddenly the entire set-up just crashed over-night and I was left with nothing. In those 6 years, I had disassociated myself with the industry, and everything had changed a lot. So, when I came back, I had to rebuild my name, my work and myself from scratch. I never struggled when I started out in the mid 90’s because work just happened, but from 2016 it has been an uphill task for me. Whatever I achieved in the 90’s and early 2000’s, I got it all back by sheer hard-work and without any help or support from my family or friends. It’s been the same since 2016, I have given hundreds of auditions and been rejected in practically all of them. But I did not go to the industry insiders to ask for work, I believed that ‘if I could do it then, I can do it again’. It has been a gruelling struggle but by the grace of God, the past one year has been kind. And now the newer generation is recognising me and my work. For the past few months I’ve been making my rounds, socialising and meeting people. Many of them are like, kahan gayab ho gaya tha?. Kehte hai na ‘laut ke buddhu ghar ko aaye’, so it feels like being back home ‘on the set’,” he shares about his difficult time.

Talking about the pressure to keep up with the public image, he says that one needs to handle such things well. The best thing, according to him, is to lead a simple life. “Jitni chadar agar aadmi utne hi pair phailaye, so that even during crisis somehow you can make it through, like how I did. I saw the simplicity in my parents. My father was a very big name but a very simple person. So when I faced that crisis for a few years, I made it through, because I never gave up. I am an extremely headstrong person with an absolute positive attitude. I realised my mistakes and took it upfront, accepted it, faced it, corrected it, changed myself and moved on. Aaj kal logon ne luxury ko necessity bana diya hai, only if they know the difference, living will become easy,” he adds.

With family and other responsibilities to take care of, a financial crunch can also take a toll on mental health. Many faced it especially during the lockdown. “I am lucky because of the family I have. They have stood by me through thick and thin. I never made them my weakness, but my strength. Jab mushkilein aati hain to log dur ho jaate hain, but I started to introspect. In the pandemic when everything was shut, I opened myself up. I took those two years to hone my skills, I learnt editing, titling and have made some 100 music tracks, I even shot a short film. I did interviews on my YouTube channel and for the past few months have been actively making reels. At 53, I’m living like a 23 year old. Like I keep saying my father ‘Johnny Walker’ is a perfect example of having it all, letting it go and still having it all,” he wraps up.