Vishal Gandhi: Was in red zone financially, now getting stable

From losing his father to facing severe financial crunch to having suicidal thoughts, Vishal Gandhi’s five-year long break from the small screen came with lots of ups and downs. But now he is back, and working hard to get his life on track.

“I stopped working in 2016 as I wanted to be with my father when he was fighting a battle against cancer, and then the lockdown disrupted everyone’s life. I’m an only child and was very close to my father. When it happened, my mind was not working, and didn’t want to be part of anything,” Gandhi tells us.

Looking back at that time, he says, “My father used to take care of major things including finances… I had no idea about banking, or how to draw a cheque. I used to sign and give it to my father. Unki death ke baad, mujhe aate daal ka bhav pata chal gaya.”

“When he died, I didn’t get a chance to cry because I was sorting bills, and taking care of other things. The entire thing was crazy. I still haven’t got a chance to cry,” says the actor, whose last outing on TV was on Tamanna in 2016.

The costly hospital bills, followed by lack of work due to pandemic-induced lockdown brought huge debts in his life.

“I was in the red zone financially. I had put everything I had on his treatment just so that we could spend some more time with him. After 5 years of his demise, and work starting, it is only now when I am getting stable and back in the green zone. I am in recovery mode,” reveals the actor.

That was the time when suicidal thoughts started coming into his mind. “I am not going to deny that these thoughts didn’t come across my mind when my father passed away, I had no work. But my father’s teaching about how precious life is only helped me overcome it, and gave me courage to fight it through,” he says.

The actor known for projects such as Bandhan Saat Janamon Ka, Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani, Ek Doosre Se Karte Hain Pyaar Hum, Rangrasiya, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, is back working on a daily soap as a parallel lead.

“I was quite adamant to take it up because I’ve done all my shows as lead. My wife pushed me to take it, no matter how small it is,” he says, adding that he doesn’t mind playing second lead roles, but fears getting trapped in it.

“The industry will put a stamp on you, and I will only get calls for such roles, which I am not prepared for right now. Even when I am old, my benchmarks are Ram Kapoor, Varun Badola and Hiten Tejwani. They are still doing lead roles, why shouldn’t I and why should I compromise my benchmark,” he says while signing off.