Actor Rajesh Kumar doesn’t need much introduction. To one generation, he is Rosesh Sarabhai — the dramatic poet from Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. To another, he is the steady character actor who slips into stories and leaves a mark without demanding the spotlight.
But the most defining chapter of his life happened off camera. At 42, at what many thought was the peak of his career, Kumar walked away from acting and turned to farming. The years that followed brought loss, humiliation, and reinvention. When he returned to acting in 2022, he came back changed.
In an exclusive conversation with SCREEN ahead of his film Ohh My Dog, releasing August 7, Kumar spoke about those difficult years, along with co-star Pavan Malhotra and director Amit Rai.
“I think it was all part of God’s plan,” Kumar says. “At what many would call the peak of my career, I took a sabbatical from acting at the age of 42. I turned to farming, and I lost everything. Then I returned to acting in 2022. Those five years transformed me as a human being. I became more real, more grounded. I came to understand the depths of suffering, how much pain a person can endure, how humiliating it feels when you have nothing left.”
“I’ve lived through moments where the credit card recovery agent would call the watchman’s cabin downstairs and abuse me because I didn’t have the money to pay. I sold my car. The last vehicle I owned was an Eco car, which I eventually handed over to my farmers in Nashik because I couldn’t pay them. I’ve been through so much. But despite all that, I never allowed myself to sink into depression, anxiety, or any kind of negative emotion. The biggest takeaway from the last four or five years has been the learning. It has been incredibly beautiful.
“When a variety of roles started coming my way, I realised I could see so many different people within myself. I’d lived through so many situations, and it’s our experiences that shape us. As we say, ‘It is in times of scarcity that one’s true character is revealed.’ Those experiences slowly became a part of who I am. And when these characters started coming to me, I found myself instinctively justifying their actions. They kept making sense to me, and perhaps that’s where my confidence as an actor came from.”
“I think it all comes down to becoming more human. The more human I’ve become, the better the work has turned out.”
The last year has reflected that renewed energy. Kumar has appeared in Saiyaara, Anurag Kashyap’s Nishaanchi, and Nikkhil Advani’s Freedom at Midnight. Each role different, each rooted in the kind of lived experience he now draws on instinctively.
If Kumar’s story is about reinvention, Pavan Malhotra’s is about endurance. With over four decades in the industry — from Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro to Delhi-6 to the series Tabbar — Malhotra has built a career on disappearing into characters
“A lot of young people come up to me and say, ‘Sir, you were very good in that film. Sir, we really enjoyed that role of yours.’ Then they’ll suddenly pause and ask, ‘But what’s your name, sir?’ They recognise my face, but they can’t quite place my name. It’s happened to me two or three times now. Just three days ago, another person came up to me and said, ‘Sir, I remember your roles, but I forgot your name.’
“And I actually like that. It means people remember the characters more than the actor. That’s far more satisfying than being recognised just because your photograph and name appear in the newspapers every ten days.”
Looking back, Malhotra says he has no regrets. “Luckily for me, some wonderful directors came into my life with beautiful stories. They trusted me with their films. God kept sending work my way, and all I did was approach it with honesty. How long any of us will survive in this profession, who knows? But I’ve truly enjoyed my journey. When I look back, I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.”
His philosophy now balances ambition with contentment. “A person’s desires never really end. No matter how much you achieve, there’s always something more to aspire to. That’s why contentment is so important. You should always have the desire to keep working and growing. But if God has already blessed you, you also need to be content. Otherwise, there’s simply no end to human desire.
Director Amit Rai knows what it means to wait. He made his debut with Road to Sangam in 2010. His next theatrical release, OMG 2, came in 2023 — a gap of 13 years. Ohh My Dog is his follow-up.
“I did make a film during that period, but it never got released. That’s a different story altogether,” Rai says. “Yes, it was very difficult. When you’re trying to tell a certain kind of story, it demands a great deal of struggle and perseverance. I went around with some wonderful scripts. People would say, ‘This is excellent,’ but they still weren’t sure whether they wanted to back them.”
He doesn’t carry bitterness about it. “If you’ve consciously chosen to swim against the tide, then you have to accept the price that comes with it. If you’re trying to tell stories that haven’t been told before, stories that don’t resemble someone else’s work, and don’t imitate existing formulas, you have to be prepared for that journey.”
For Rai, filmmaking is about finding people who believe in the same story. “To make films like that, you have to find people willing to walk that difficult path with you — actors, producers, music directors, people who genuinely believe in the story you’re trying to tell. It’s not just about sharing the same taste in films; it’s about sharing a way of thinking. They have to believe that this story deserves to be told. Only then does your caravan come together. But for me, building that caravan took fourteen years, almost like Lord Ram’s years of exile.
When asked what they hope audiences take away from Ohh My Dog, all three — Kumar, Malhotra and Rai — give the same answer: compassion.
It feels inevitable. Three careers marked by rejection, anonymity, financial collapse and long waits have led them to the same conclusion. After everything they’ve been through, the thing the world needs most is a little more compassion.
For Kumar, that lesson was learned the hard way. From Rosesh to a farmer in Nashik to a working actor again, his journey has come full circle. And he’s bringing all of it — the loss, the humility, the grounding — to every role he plays now
