It’s difficult to find work, more so to find the right people: Tanish Mahendru

Seen in Hungama 2 (2021) and the TV series Pyaar Tune Kya Kia (2023), actor Tanish Mahendru says it’s extremely challenging for youngsters to enter the industry and find work.
“It’s a task to find a footing in the industry. All is on you as an individual many go back after years of struggle as it’s not only difficult to find work but to find the right people. Many exploit youngsters be it for money or anything else. It took me time and a few instances that were not in good taste before I found genuine people to work with,” says Mahendru.
Recalling one such incident that made them think twice before going ahead with acting, the actor adds, “I vividly remember while going for audition almost every day, meeting new people, trying to earn a living while somehow managing in a small room with over half dozen other struggling actors. It was tough! In such a situation, when I got a call from one of the assistants of some casting director who wanted to audition me for a film it made me super happy. For somebody who was having his meals at a Gurudwara, it was like finally kuch kaam aya. But as I reached the place, in no time I realised it was nowhere like a casting office should be. Then it was just this person sitting across who had called for the audition. By then I had figured it out that it was a trap and I flung off from the place without wasting a second. It took me days to bounce back from that episode and till now I have trust issues.”
Mahendru feels television is a more assessable industry for newcomers. “It’s a more calculated place of work. Though its reach is vast, the people associated are limited. Samjhna bhi asaan hai! It took me a few years to get a break and find work that marked my beginning in the profession. Doing TV and playing the parallel lead in Rabb Se Hai Duaa has provided me with a stable life. I am happy as an actor and my finances are ticking. In the mid of all this and being busy I haven’t forgotten to support youngsters in the best way I can, so they don’t fall for wrong deals,” concludes Mahendru.