Rajesh Kumar is a renowned television actor who debuted in the industry with the serial, Desh Mein Nikla Hoga Chand. But mostly, he is known for his character, 'Rosesh Sarabhai', in the popular sitcom, Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai. While Rajesh also played other roles on television, his portrayal of 'Rosesh' remains everyone's favourite. Rajesh Kumar later switched his profession from being an actor to a farmer.
Rajesh Kumar recently had a conversation with Siddharth Kannan, during which he revealed that after leaving acting, he went back home and started farming with his father. He even audition at Shark Tank as a contestant but was rejected after two rounds of auditions. He thought that being an actor and a known face would help him bag the offer, but that did not happen. Rajesh added that he was very disheartened and low on confidence after he failed. In his words:
“I had applied for Shark Tank India. I had cleared two out of three rounds. You also had to submit your videos, so I thought, I might get a favour because I am a known face. That here is an actor, who is a social entrepreneur talking about agriculture. My presentation was in Kolkata and it was wrapped within a day. My father paid for the tickets.”
Rajesh added just before he left for Shark Tank, he got a call from team, Haddi that the director and the casting team wanted to meet him. He was quite shaken at that point and was low on confidence. As he met the casting director, he told him that the director wanted to meet him, so he thought that they would take his audition, but to his surprise, the director directly offered him the role. Rajesh further added:
“Just before I left for Shark Tank India, I got a call from Haddi, and they wanted to meet me. My confidence was so shaken, when I went to meet the casting director at his office, they told me the director would meet me. I thought he will take my audition, then they said the production guys will discuss the money, I though, ok after that, my audition will happen. Then they said, ‘Sir you are confirmed."
Rajesh Kumar then asked the director how he could finalise him for the role without an audition, to which he just welcomed him and said that if Rajesh can fulfil his one request, he is finalised for the role. The director wanted him to shave his head, and the latter agreed to do so. However, Rajesh demanded an extra lakh for shaving his head, and the director readily paid for it. He added:
“I was like, but what about my audition? He said we just want you on board. The director just had one request, if I could shave my head. I said I can, if you pay me one lakh extra, and he did.”
In an interview with Rajshri Unplugged, Rajesh recalled that it was in 2017 when he decided to quit the world of showbiz to start farming. Rajesh revealed that it was a sudden shift in him as he wanted to work on his ancestral land in Bihar and start farming. He added that his father thought it was just a phase of him, but Rajesh was determined. He was quoted as saying:
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"In 2017, I went back to my village from where I started — Gaya. Aur waha pr humari zameen thi, and I told him I wanted to become a farmer. My father thought 2-3 mahine ka bhoot hai, but it went on. And I totally gave in, and my family supported."
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