Rahul Bhatia’s initial days in Mumbai were difficult:  For three days, I stayed without eating anything

Coming from a middle class background, the options for Rahul Bhatia was to be an engineer or pursue MBA or become a doctor and do a regular job. The idea was that if you find a good job then your life is set. The YouTuber (channel name – VJ Rahul Bhatia), actor, entrepreneur and social media influencer says actors and many other professions were considered as hobbies and time pass not as a money-making professions. From there till now Rahul has crossed many milestones.

“When I was young I had a passion for dancing and joined Shiamak Davar. He trained me well and I was one of his background dancers and I danced with many Bollywood celebrities. I also performed in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. I was at the closing ceremony in Australia where I performed alongside Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee. That is when I realised that I want to become an actor too,” he says.

He faced many struggles while trying to make his mark because initially, he didn’t know much about the industry and how to move ahead. He went to Mumbai in 2011.

“At that time I didn’t have enough money and my dad also didn’t give me money to follow my passion. The money that I earned doing a part-time job with Shiamak Davar helped. For three days, I stayed without eating anything as I had no money left and I still remember that I stole a tomato from my friend to feel better. In a room, five of us used to stay so that was something that I remember,” he recalls.

When he did background dancing, his best friend was Sushant Singh Rajput. “We were good friends and were of the same batch. And, I saw him becoming an actor. He started with serials and then went to do films. He was my biggest motivation,” he shares.

In the current scenario, in spite of films, OTT and television opening many doors for performers and even people working behind the scenes, there is much insecurity, competition and even unemployment. Rahul feels there is no demotivation, but there are multiple options now, which is much better.

“Earlier there was only TV and movies but now we have OTT as well. There is no lack of work. If some actor has talent and can perform well then he won’t go hungry. Yes there are some production houses who do not offer good remuneration to new actors but enough to help that person survive and continue with his passion,” he says.

Every actor wants his or her project to become a hit but there is no guarantee that it will even after everyone puts in their efforts. “Yes, it’s not about the production, sets, storyline, direction, editing, the platform where it will release etc but the number of audience it can attract and entertain. There is a lot of team work that goes into making a product,” he adds.

Rahul believes in hard work, luck and destiny. “I believe in everything because sometimes those who work hard don’t get the desired result but there are some who work a little and achieve everything. I won’t say that luck is not important, but you should focus on the hard part and live the rest on luck/destiny,” he says.

About his satisfaction regarding his journey so far, Rahul adds, “I started as a background dancer, did modelling, ads, reality shows, TV shopping shows and now I am doing YouTube, I am happy and satisfied to have done this much with my career. Unlike earlier, things now are much better, there are fewer ups and downs and now I still have so many chances to do well. There is nothing about disappointment. I am doing Youtube with my wife so I am happy and together we are running a business.”

And what are your career goals now? “My career goal is to expand my business in Delhi and improve my acting skills so that I can do a movie or a series and work more on my Youtube channel ( VJ Rahul Bhatia) as well,” he signs off.