SA is my second home, says heart-throb
INDIAN actor Gurmeet Choudhary, best remembered for his role as Yash Sindhia on the Zee TV serial Punar Vivah ( Married Again), has become South Africa’s darling.
The actor, model and martial artist, who has visited the country five times, was in Durban and Johannesburg last week to attend private events hosted in the cities.
In an interview with POST at the Hilton hotel on Friday, the 33-year-old, who was born and raised in Bihar, northern India, said his dream of becoming an actor had been realised through hard work and persistence.
“I was raised in a small town and all we could do was dream. I would look up to Shah Rukh Khan and think to myself, if he could make it big (without having anything), I could as well. And so I kept pushing and going for auditions and I just never gave up,” he said.
The actor landed his first role in a Tamil television series, Mayavi, in 2006, in which he played a villain.
In 2008, he secured the role of Ram in the remake of Ramayan, a story depicting the life of Lord Ram and his exile to a forest for 14 years.
Since playing Ram, Choudhary has been busy signing contracts for new roles or being cast by model agencies.
He has acted in Punar Vivah ( Married Again) as Yash Sindhia, Hui Sabse Parayi as Maan Singh Khurana and in debut film Khamoshiyan as Jaidev Dhanrajgir. The actor is working on JP Dutta’s new war drama Paltan with Abhishek Bachchan, Suniel Shetty and Jackie Shroff.
“I get to follow in the footsteps of the real heroes… here I can show the life of an army soldier.”
Had it not been for acting, he said he would have joined the Indian army.
“I just love the army. My father, Sitaram Choudhary, joined and I was so inspired by him, so definitely, had it not been for acting I would be in the army.”
Choudhary, whose favourite food is sushi, was in Durban for a cocktail-and-dinner event with fans at the presidential lounge at the Sahara Kingsmead Stadium on Friday.
This trip is his fifth to the country.
“What can I say? This place is my second home and the fans are so welcoming and so loving… Over the years I have formed relationships with a few people from here, so it’s great to also have friends in South Africa who I look forward to meeting.”
Choudhary met his wife, Debina Bonnerjee, or Sita from Ramayan, while participating in a talent hunt show in which both were among the top 30 contestants.
“We were sitting in this hall and everyone was sitting in pairs and chatting away. I looked at her and said ‘hey, we are both single we should get married’ and that’s how the conversation started. It was just a joke to break the ice, you know, and four years and a series later, we really did get married.”
Despite not having any children of their own, the couple recently announced they are parents to two girls, Pooja, 6, and Lata, 9, from Choudhary’s village.
“We are still in the adoption process and they are lovely. We just want to have the chance to help these little girls and give them the proper necessities they need and the best education. We want to help them and we are in the process of doing that.”
The Choudarys met the girls earlier in this year, when they went to their home. They were told about orphaned Pooja and her cousin Lata and immediately consulted his mother about wanting to adopt the girls.
Choudhary said he could not live without his family, acting or his dog Dexter.
Before leaving the interview, Choudhary hinted that he may be returning for his sixth visit before the end of the year.