Actor Rajat Bedi opened up about his struggles in the film industry, revealing he hit rock bottom due to lack of recognition and financial instability. This led to nervous breakdowns and reliance on medication. Bedi eventually moved to Canada with his family in 2007, finding initial support from the Indian community, though he also faced exploitation.
Rajat Bedi, who is currently garnering immense fame for his recent stint in Aryan Khan’s Ba***ds of Bollywood, recalled his decision to leave the Industry after hitting rock bottom and how it affected his physical and mental health.
Struggles with recognition and manipulation
In conversation with Mid-Day, Rajat shared, “I was going through a very challenging time. I mean, every actor has his own journey and acting is a very, I think, one of the most difficult professions because you see the high, then suddenly you see a very solid dip. It’s not that your track only goes up like that. And all big stars have also gone through it. Every big star, even if they are running in the number one position, they are worried about what will happen to their next film. So, my journey has been different. I was very immature, I would say. I didn’t know what was right, what was wrong. And some people would manipulate me into doing certain jobs and things for their selfish interest, which I could not make out or whatever it was. But you would work with your heart for every product, everything you are working for, but I would not get my due.”Elaborating further, Bedi added, “I have been a part of a lot of hit films. But never did I get my due; others would take the dues, celebrate the success and all. And I would just be, okay, carry on to the next project. And somewhere that was very disheartening. And then obviously, financially, I was not seeing a future because I would not get paid as much as I wanted. There would be a contractual obligation by a producer. They would not pay on time, and by the end, the producer would be losing money. So, he would say, Please leave your money. I was here, I was getting name and recognition. But financially, it was going nowhere because I wasn’t making any big money. ”
Impact on mental and physical health
The actor admitted that this phase even affected his physical and mental health. “At one point, I was completely done; I was having nervous breakdowns. I was on tablets. I was taking rest pills to sleep at night. I was not getting sleep because I was constantly thinking of how the house would run. What will this be? What will that be? How will it be? I couldn’t see the future ahead. Everything was dependent upon the film’s release, and after a point, even my wife couldn’t handle it, and she suggested that we must get out of here,” he said.
Decision to move to Canada
He continued, “A friend of mine had shifted to Canada, and he kept pushing me to shift there. He kept telling me that I should shift with him and we would start something together. So when I hit the rough phase, I decided to move. As soon as my daughter was born, in mid-2007, she was six months old, and we left. The day I had to leave for Canada. The day we had to catch our flight. I broke down. It was crazy. I broke down, and how? I didn’t know where I was going. I had no family, friends overseas. It was all left in God’s hands. If I hadn’t left, I would have died under the constant pressure. So we left it all to god and took that risk. “Rajat also shared that it wasn’t that bad for him to settle in Canada. “Somewhere, those 16 years came as a blessing to me. People would recognise me, especially the Indian Community. I did 40-50 films with iconic stalwarts of the Industry and some superhit films. That way, I had a lot of comfort; people were ready to help me get established there. But a lot of people had their selfish motives also over there to use me for their benefit. I would say a lot of people have used me and abused me over there in Vancouver, Canada,” he conlcuded. Go to Source
