Sajjad Delafrooz of Tiger Zinda Hai speaks about breaking into the Hindi film industry and the hardest challenge he faced.
“Everything appears satisfying to me since I labour without expectations,” says actor Sajjad Delafrooz. The actor was first seen in the OTT drama Special Ops after playing Abu Usman in Salman Khan’s Tiger Zinda Hai (2017).
He recalls that he began his acting career in 2011, but that he ran into a major setback. “I didn’t know Hindi at the time, and the idea of working in Hindi films sounded absurd.” I, too, lacked contacts and had no clue how to proceed. So, I kept contacting people for seven years, doing modelling and music videos in Dubai. People would tell me to give up, and their comments began to have an impact on me. Then I decided to give myself a month and email every prospective production firm for 10 hours every day.” Finally, the film Tiger Zinda Hai was released, but it took him three months of hard labor to land the role of the antagonist.
The actor, who just concluded production on the Kartik Aaryan-starrer Freddy, adds that the high level of competition in Bollywood has been a major roadblock for him. “Bollywood is inviting, but you must be prepared for the challenge, and the biggest problem is competition.” No one should believe that after one project and a bit of popularity, everything will be OK. “For each part, you have to put in a lot of effort,” he explains.
In terms of substance or presentation, the actor feels that the industry changes every year. “And we’ve seen how difficult the pandemic’s first two years were for everyone.” Being strong is crucial to me because I live alone. You must be powerful in order to achieve your objective. It does not imply being egotistical. Many of my friends had anxiety as a result of the epidemic, and I was able to assist them by providing strength and support,” adds the actor.
