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Nostalgia with Danish Husain: “I wanted to be a cricketer or an Army General”
The actor, poet and storyteller talks about figuring out his career when he was 22, being financially dependent on his parents and crushing on Sushmita Sen
Where were you career-wise?
Clueless, wayward. I had tried working in a music magazine to assert my independence but the sales job was back breaking, and my father said I should give the entrance exam of either FMS (Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University) or the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) and carve a respectable career. I came from a family of academics and was expected to follow the same route.
What was the state of your finances like?
Completely dependent on my parents.
What was your focus professionally?
Completely unfocussed. I was just doing what was being told with no game plan.
What changed that?
DSE transformed me. I was interacting with a world-class faculty, the brightest students, and was exposed to authors, ideas and views I wasn’t acquainted with at all.
Any romance in the air...?
There was a girl that I liked immensely but it was more a Sahir Ludhianvi moment.
terī sāñsoñ kī thakan terī nigāhoñ kā sukūt
dar-haqīqat koī rañgīn sharārat hī na ho
maiñ jise pyaar kā andāz samajh baiThā huuñ
vo tabassum vo takallum tirī aadat hī na ho,
which translates to: ‘Your sultry sigh, your languid gaze, May not be flirtatious mischief, What I imagined as romance, That smile, that tender speech may not be your style at all.’
What was your most prized possession?
My Yamaha RX 100 bike, my little library of books, and my music cassette collection.
Your biggest dream?
To be a cricketer or an Army General.
Your celebrity crush then?
On campus we had a collective crush on Sushmita Sen when she won Miss Universe.
From HT Brunch, January 30, 2022
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