Aayush Sharma recently spoke about the challenges he faced at the beginning of his acting career. In a conversation with Cyrus Broacha, he shared how he had to deal with lack of support, financial struggles and strong criticism from his family.
Aayush said that he came to Mumbai for studies and joined Jai Hind College for a BMS course. During this time, he was living comfortably in Bandra with financial support from his family. However, he had also started attending acting workshops without informing them.
Things changed when his college attendance dropped to 9 percent and the college informed his father. Aayush said, “My father was called by the college and told that your son’s attendance is 9 percent. My dad came to Mumbai—he was quite ashamed. My mom was also upset and said, ‘What have we not given you—we gave you a house, a car, and you’ve brought us shame. We told the entire family that our child is going to Mumbai and will make something of himself.’”
It was then that Aayush told his father about his dream. “I told my dad that I want to be an actor. I showed him my photoshoot and my CD of my performances. It was a very important moment of my life.”
His father, however, did not support the idea. Aayush recalled, “My father said, ‘Neither are you tall, nor do you have a physique, nor do you have a voice, nor are you good-looking. You have no personality whatsoever. When you walk on the road, nobody looks at you. Has anyone ever told you that you can become an actor?’” He added, “You are nothing close to Bachchan sahab, you are nothing close to Dharmendra ji. You are not going to be a hero at all. I am not going to pay even Rs 50 to watch you on screen.”
After this, his father stopped supporting him financially. Aayush said, “Things came down to a point where I had Rs 20 left,”. A friend later helped him by sending Rs 50,000.
Despite this, Aayush did not give up. He later asked his father for Rs 10 crore to launch himself, but his father replied, “Beta, tune dekha hai kabhi langde ghode pe paisa lagate ho? Main to chalo 10 crore beta samajh ke de bhi dunga, but tere ko dekhne kaun aayega?”
Eventually, his grandfather convinced the family to give him another chance. Aayush later made his debut with Loveyatri and was last seen in Ruslaan.