Ankur Bhatia: Arya with Sushmita Sen has changed my career big time

Playing actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s husband in Sarbjit (2016), and then Shraddha Kapoor’s husband in Haseena Parkar (2017) – Ankur Bhatia was known for these roles, until the hit web show Arya came along. He says his career can be divided into before and after the show.

Today, he has his hands full with projects including Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bloody Money, starring Shahid Kapoor . “Arya changed my career big time, because before that I had done a stint in films. But my career took off after this show. People liked my role as Sangram, Arya’s (played by actor Sushmita Sen) brother, and it connected really well. From there, it was picked up for a second season, it was great,” says the 42-year-old.

Bhatia, who is currently shooting for another web project, says, “Something, that I have followed right since the beginning of my career is that I never said a yes to any project in one go. I have been selective. I did Sarbjit, and then I waited for a year-and-a-half because I was not keen on playing similar roles again. Then, I did Haseena Parkar, and after a two year gap I signed Arya.”

But not many know that Bhatia had initially almost turned down the offer for the show. He says, “I was in New York then, and approached by the casting director Abhimanyu Ray. He didn’t disclose that I was playing Sushmita Sen’s brother. I had played a husband in two films until then, so I wasn’t very keen.” Bhatia, of course, liked the role, and he had seen the original Dutch drama series Penoza.