Actor Rajat Bedi, who recently returned to screens with a key role in Aryan Khan’s The Ba***ds of Bollywood, opened up about the emotional toll of his career setbacks.
Known for playing villains in several Bollywood films, including the 2003 blockbuster Koi… Mil Gaya, Rajat revealed that he decided to step away from acting in the mid-2000s after failing to reach the next level in his career. He moved to Canada to start a real estate business, but faced multiple hurdles there, too, including being cheated by business partners.
Reflecting on the two decades away from the spotlight in an interview with Digital Commentary, Rajat shared, “People only see the comeback, but for the last 20 years, I have been in pain. They think I’m lucky. But I’ve made my own luck. I never gave up. Yes, I’ve been fortunate as well. My wife has been a constant support for me. She’s experienced a lot of sadness because of me. But because of this show, she is sharing the joy as well. She can’t believe what our family is witnessing. My children have also become popular on social media. Yes, she had to bear with a lot of setbacks because of me, but she is now seeing the fruits of my labour.”
Gurleen Baruah, existential analyst, tells indianexpress.com, “It really depends on the person, their values, and their life context. For some, a career is closely tied to identity, so setbacks can feel like personal failure, bringing feelings of not being good enough or being left behind. Over time, this can affect confidence and mental health. Coping often means shifting perspective: seeing life as a marathon, not a sprint.”
She adds that resilience builds when we “reframe setbacks as temporary, seek meaning beyond just work, and lean on relationships.” Practical tools, such as therapy, journaling, physical activity, or setting smaller, achievable goals, can help restore balance.
It’s natural for partners to feel overwhelmed, Baruah notes, and supporting someone through long struggles is not easy. “The healthier way is not to deny this, but to acknowledge the weight and still stay connected. In therapy, we often see that what helps most is trust, believing in your partner when they can’t believe in themselves”.
Support also means holding space, but not carrying everything alone. Sharing feelings openly, creating small rituals of care, and seeking outside networks of support (friends, therapy, community) can prevent burnout. It’s less about being endlessly strong and more about being real, while still standing beside each other.
According to Baruah, families function best when both struggle and joy are given space. If only the lows are spoken of, life feels heavy; if only highs are celebrated, struggles feel invisible. Equanimity, the capacity to hold both sides together, becomes important here. This means accepting that careers have cycles, normalising ups and downs, and not tying love or respect only to success.
“Celebrating small wins, expressing gratitude, and creating family rituals of togetherness (meals, conversations, shared activities) help in balancing the emotional climate. Over time, this creates resilience, where both setbacks and successes are carried collectively, not alone,” mentions the expert.
Curated by Aisha Patel
