Harshvardhan Rane’ s Fascinating Journey Booked

He is only 32. And yet Telugu-Bollywood actor Harshvardhan Rane who made his Hindi debut this year withSanam Teri Kasam is all set to publish his memoirs.

Says the actor shyly, “My life has been pretty unconventional . The Aditya Birla group saw a story in it and yes, my life has been put in a book .It’s written by  Mayur Shah and will be released in August.”

It’s been a long hard struggle for Harshvardhan .At the age of 16 he ran away from his home in Gwalior with just a 100 rupees in his pocket.

Recalls Harshvardhan, “I wanted to escape the drudgery of a small town existence. Any escape to any place bigger than Gwalior was fine. I took the first train out to Delhi because that was the only fare I could afford.”

Once in Delhi, Harshvardhan’s concern was his next meal, “I started working in an STD phone booth where I had to note down all the numbers that were dialed -–this was post 9/11 when security was a looming issue. I got Rs 10 per day for my work. Soon after , a benefactor offered me a job in a cybercafé down the road for Rs 20.”

Mumbai was always on Harshvardhan’s mind. “From the time I was a child I wanted to be an actor. In Mumbai Igot a job distributing DVDs. I thought this was a great opportunity for me to network with important people.”

Soon Harshvardhan landed with his first acting assignment on a television serial called Left Right Left.

Recalls the actor, “I thought it was a great opportunity since Shah Rukh Khan too had started on television in  a serial about the army. I thought I was  following his footprints.In fact I learnt acting in Delhi from Barry John who also taught Shah Rukh Khan.”

Harshvardhan soon realized television was not where he wanted to be. He wanted to see himself on the large screen.Next stop for this adventurous actor was  Hyderabad where the first film Thakita Thakita happened without much effort.

He looks back at his adventurous life so far as nothing but a series of  opportunities provided by fate.

“I’ve seen the best and worst of times . My parents were divorced when I  was a child. I was brought up by my father. I fled my home town and did oddjobs including re-designing old furniture before I became an actor. But I don’t think my life-story is in any way remarkable. What is remarkable is how acting opportunities have come my way.”