Taare Zameen Par actor Darsheel Safary thought he would be an established actor by now: 'Reality has been different'

Darsheel Safary made his Bollywood debut 15 years ago with Taare Zameen Par. He celebrated his 25th birthday in March this year.

Darsheel Safary, who made his debut in Bollywood as a child actor 15 years ago, has said that he thought he would have been established as an actor by now. Darsheel's first work as an actor was the 2007 film Taare Zameen Par, in which he played the leading role of a student with dyslexia, while Aamir Khan played his art teacher. The film also marked Aamir Khan's directorial debut.

Darsheel Safary made his debut with the 2007 film Taare Zameen Par.

Darsheel has appeared in three more films then, all as child actors. Meanwhile, he also did a number of TV shows including Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 5 and Comedy Nights Bachao. The actor, who celebrated his 25th birthday in March this year, recently said that he had hoped to have a better career by this age. He also noted that he faced a challenging time last year.

He told ETimes, "I had imagined myself in a certain way when I would be 25 and the reality has been different...I thought that I would be established as an actor at 25. I'd thought that life would be easier. I thought I would be sorted spiritually. And of course, I never thought that we would be engulfed by a pandemic (smiles). Last year was challenging for me. And, note, I am sugar-coating this."

He explained that when everything came to a halt during the pandemic, he had a crisis of sorts when he started having doubts if things would remain the same for him when it gets over. He added, "My parents and friends would cajole me to have patience. I would revert saying that they cannot feel what I am undergoing because they are not in my shoes. The momentum had stopped, which is worst for an actor; band baj jaati hai (the person gets jacked). I wondered how I will get this time back."

Darsheel revealed that his father has been in touch with his Aamir Uncle (Khan), who directed Darsheel in his first movie. The actor mentioned that Aamir has guided him on most of the projects he has done since Taare Zameen Par.

Darsheel was last seen in the music video Pyaar Naal, which came out in 2020. He revealed in an earlier conversation with HT that he has shot for two projects, both exploring the dark space.