Sanjay Gagnai reveals being rejected for more than 100 TV shows and 500 TV commercials

Actor Sanjay Gagnani shared a long post few days back to finally announce his exit from TV show Kundali Bhagya after playing the lead antagonist for almost seven years. As the actor looks forward to playing diverse characters that have been offered to him after the show’s success, he recalls the initial phase of his career when he struggled and faced immense rejections.

“When I was doing my graduation, I used to come all the way from Pune to Mumbai only to give auditions and I used to get rejected left, right and centre. That was very demotivating for me. I did not know why that happened, but if I was rejected by so many directors and casting agent, perhaps I was not up to the mark. And do be up to the mark, I had to work harder. I did not blame anyone else,” recounts the actor.

After a few years, Gagnani shifted to Bombay (now Mumbai), but things did not improve much for him. He tells us, “I must have been rejected by 500 TV commercials and more than 100 TV shows. I have been a part of shows, which did not work for more than 3 months. I have been part of films that did not release, or where my role was not noticed. I was also a part of a film where I was promised something and wasn’t delivered that. So I have been through each and everything that an actor from a non-filmy background faces.”

But Gagnani never gave up hope and never took the rejection to heart. And today, as he has become a popular face of TV, he wants to thanks all those people who did not believe in him. “There were a lot of people who did not even support me or believe in me, but now I want to thank them because they made me work harder in life. They made me believe in myself more. I took their doubts in me as a challenge, and today, I am in a much happier place,” he says.

What kept him moving on the path was an early realization that things won’t be easy for him in the industry. “I knew that I had no filmi-background and for someone new, making a career here is no piece of cake,” he says, and goes on, “But during these hard times, the only thing that kept me motivated was my family. There was a time when I was going through a very low point in life, but instead of bearing it all alone, I shared my problems with them, and that helped. I believe, if someone’s motivation is their family, you cannot break them easily. Even today, I wake up with the thought of making them proud,” he ends.