Arun Mandola on his journey and staying strong in adversity

We all have ambitions and dreams, and our effort is drawn towards fulfilling them. While some take time to identify what they want to pursue, there are others who know it at a very young age. Actor Arun Mandola, known for shows Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman and Vignaharta Ganesh, talks about how and when he realised his true calling.

 

 

“I am a highly ambitious and passionate person and always wanted to see myself in the entertainment industry, but had no idea how it can happen. When a middle-class person came to Mumbai to be a part of the entertainment industry it is almost impossible to survive. Initially my family supported me but after one year they gave up and somewhere they were right,” he says.

Mumbai is only for fighters.

“This is an individual’s fight. Without family support no one can survive in India’s New York City, Mumbai, but I did not give up and somewhere God helped me.

“Honestly speaking when I came to Mumbai I was 100% confident because I was preparing from childhood to become an actor. It’s not only 6-7 years hard work or strategy. I almost spend my entire childhood on this. Not a single day of my life when I did not saw this dream but still I made lots of mistakes. I had a very sharp focus that I will only do substantial work and we all know how difficult it becomes when you wait for good projects.”

In today’s time and age, societal pressure and competition are such that everyone wants to be at the top in their profession. This leads to a lot of stress

“Well I have never faced stress in my life. Even sometimes during my struggling days, I had no money in my pocket but still, I had never felt any stress. But when I got my first project in 2016 that time I realised that if I wanted to do something big in entertainment industry, then I have to do smart work as there are many like me struggling for 20-25 years, but nobody knows about them. During that time I faced stress. I think sometimes stress is important as it makes us realize a lot of things. My father always says, ‘Life mein chinta nahi chintan karna chahiye kyunki chinta mein se agar ek bindu hat jaaye to ye chita ban jaati hai’,” he ends.