Taarak Mehta’s Bhide aka Mandar reveals he was a mechanical engineer in Dubai, quit it all for acting

Actor Mandar Chandwadkar reveals he is a mechanical engineer and was working in Dubai before he gave it all up to come Mumbai and pursuing acting as his profession.

Actor Mandar Chandwadkar, who essays the role of Aatmaram Bhide in popular serial Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma, has revealed he was working in Dubai as a mechanical engineer before he decided to quit it all and pursue acting. He also said that he struggled for eight years before bagging the role of Bhide that made him a household name.

Taarak Mehta proved to be breakthrough project for Mandar.

Mandar told ETimes in an interview, “I struggled till 2008. I am a mechanical engineer by profession and was working in Dubai. I quit my job and returned to India in 2000 as I wanted to pursue a career in acting. Acting has always been my passion since childhood. I had done theatre, but did not get a break that I needed. There’s a lot of work in the industry but I was waiting for a break and through this (Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma) show I got that in 2008.”

Elaborating on how enriching the show has been for him, Mandar further told the daily, “People usually dream of working with big and popular actors, but because of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah stars actually visit our show. The most memorable was when Mr Amitabh Bachchan visited our sets. He spoke with us and shared memories. It was like a dream that he was standing in front of us and we were hugging and sharing screen space with him. It’s everyone’s dream to work with him and we are so lucky that he came to our show. Not just Amitabh Bachchan sir, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar all of them have visited our sets.”

Talking about the emotional bond he shares with the cast of the popular show, Mandar had told Hindustan Times last year that he celebrates festivals with both his “professional and personal families”. “For the occasion, my wife prepares special modaks, which I get to the sets to share with my co-artists. Also, just like we bring eco-friendly Ganpati Bappa in Gokuldham, similarly, we bring only eco-friendly Ganpati idol at home. It is important for us all to protect the environment while we celebrate our festivals,” he had said ahead of the Ganesh Puja celebrations on the show in 2019.

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