‘I was laidback, and I didn’t want to leave TV’
Actor Kumud Mishra, who has been praised for starring in films such as Rockstar (2011), Jolly LLB 2 (2017), and recently, Mulk, has been active in Bollywood only since 2007.
While he made his debut in 1996 with Sardari Begum, he took a break from movies in between and returned in 2007 with the film 1971.
Ask him why did he take such a long break, and he says, “I had come to Mumbai in 1995, and I had a keen interest in theatre. So, I started doing it. Then, to earn a living, I started working in television. I did get opportunities in cinema, but I was laid-back, and I didn’t want to leave TV. I was getting money from there to run my house, and through theatre, I was able to satisfy my hunger for acting.” He adds that it was his marriage to actor Ayesha Raza that finally made him come back to films. “I got married 10 years back, and naturally, your needs increase after marriage. I entered cinema and realised that even this has its own share of challenges. But I am still continuing with theatre,” he says. While his characters from his films have been praised, he doesn’t find it annoying if people don’t know him by his (real) name. He shares, “If people are watching and liking me on-screen as a character, and don’t recognise me in real life, I have no problem. It’s the most satisfying thing if they don’t know my actual name, yet know my character’s name.”