Harsh Mayar: After winning the National Award, it took me six years to get my first big break

Actor Harsh Mayar talks about his singing debut in Gullak 4 and opportunities after winning National award.

Harsh Mayyar became a household name when web show Gullak first released in 2019. Five years later and with its fourth season that recently dropped, the actor feels “overwhelmed” that audiences continue to love the show.

Harsh Mayar was last seen in Gullak 4

“Without doing big promotions, Gullak has garnered so much love from people, and it got picked up like crazy and I am getting a great response. This shows that everything is content driven these days,” says Mayyar, who also made his singing debut with the track Feeling Nayi Hai in Gullak 4.

Stating that singing is something that he always wanted to do, he tells us, “Main bahut time se peeche pada hua tha team ke that let’s do a song. Gullak is something jo mera home ground hai. I felt that the song was on me, so I could give it a shot with my voice. And when the song finally released, people liked it so much that it was unbelievable. I had never thought of such a debut in singing, I always thought maybe one day I will do playback singing for films. But, this all felt so good.”

Going forward, the 26-year-old hopes that he gets offered more singing projects, and expresses his wish to explore “rap as well, as I have several friends in the desi hip hop industry”. However, at this point, Mayyar, who won a National Award for the Best Child Artist for I Am Kalam (2011), reveals that despite getting such an honour, the opportunities he got were not instant.

“When I was young, mujhe knowledge nahi thi inn sab cheezon ki. But later, when I came to Mumbai, I realised that this is a very different world and it will be difficult to have an experience here on my own,” he says, adding, “I got my first huge break with Hichki (2018) after six years [of waiting], and I couldn’t believe what happened. So, agar pehle nahi bhi mila kaam and baad mai mila, toh mujhe koi complaint nahi hai. Without any film family background, at least people saw the talent in me and gave me work,” he elucidates.

While the actor feels that social media might play an important role in a celebrity’s life, in the end, it’s only good work that attracts more offers and audiences. “I don’t indulge in internet fame, so it’s good that I still manage to get work. My aim is only to focus on acting and not be bothered about these factors,” he says, and is quick to add, “Initially, I never used to may much heed to social media, but after I got married, my wife said that you rap, sing, dance, and act, so you should maintain your social media, that’s when I started focusing on it a bit. People are even liking it now! Phir bhi, zaroorat se zyada kuch nahi karna chaahiye, it should be just a medium to stay connected with fans and let people talk about your work more,” Mayar concludes.