Vivaan Bhathena struggled for five years after quitting television.
Vivaan Bhathena, once among Indian television’s most popular faces, was recently spotted in Razneesh Ghai’s period military drama 120 Bahadur alongside Farhan Akhtar. The Shararat actor, who quit television at the peak of his career, revealed how his financial situation was once so dire that he could barely make his ends meet.
“I used to get all NRI roles. But nobody would believe I didn’t even have the money to pay for food. We used to put it together somehow. I wouldn’t say we were very poor, but we were literally just borderline making it happen,” confesses Vivaan on a new podcast. He recalled how he had to become a VJ (Video Jockey) for sustenance months after quitting television at the peak of his career.
“I got a little bored of TV. I kept doing the same thing for seven to eight years,” recalled Vivaan on Digital Commentary. He revealed he’d do two shows at a time back then. He’d hit the gym as soon as he woke up, reach the set by 9 am, shoot for the first show till 2 pm, reach the other set and shoot till 10 pm or even 2 am, whichever was required.
“It took an incredible toll on my health. But I needed that. I had to settle myself in life. I was married. I had domestic responsibilities,” said Vivaan. He’s grateful to television for being able to clear his entire home loan in just one year. “Today, I have two houses in Bandra because of television. I love TV. People say it’s lesser form. It’s looked down upon. But that’s not the case anymore,” claimed Vivaan.
Vivaan Bhathena was last seen in 120 Bahadur.
He recalled his Judwaa 2 director David Dhawan confessing to him that he’d never cast TV actors earlier, but that has changed now. “They just don’t get the right chances. There are so many actors who’ve come from television now, whether it’s Mona Singh or Smriti Irani. Look where all of these people have reached,” said Vivaan, who shared screen space with Smriti in the seminal daily soap, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
He recalled the exact point when he quit television was when he didn’t want to do a show in which he was offered the big brother’s role. “I went to their office. The director wasn’t there, but the accountant was. When I asked him for the contract, he took it out of the drawer and threw it in front of me. Then I realized I have no value. If I don’t do this, someone would replace me. I was stuck at the same money for years. Even after you’ve proved yourself, people are bargaining with you to give you less and less money,” said Vivaan.
He then revealed he tore the contract and threw it on the accountant’s face. When he got calls from the producer, Vivaan said, “You’re lucky I didn’t slap your guy because this is insulting to another degree. I wouldn’t even do this to my staff or labour. I’m a human being. You don’t do this no matter what the price. I came back from the middle of a holiday for that. So, I told my wife I wanted to quit TV. She asked me to reconsider because I was one of the top faces after Ronit Roy,” recalled Vivaan.
He ended up quitting television and struggled for five years before taking up a job as a VJ. However, now, he feels the age of stars is now a thing of the past, including in films. “The differentiation between stars and actors is no longer there. That’s why Shah Rukh Khan says he’s the last star. Now, actors are only trying to become stars, but they were the stars. They’ve seen that golden period. There’s so much accessibility now. Ranbir Kapoor is the last one who has the potential to get there,” added Vivaan.