Vineet Kumar Singh, the actor who has been part of the entertainment industry for two decades, recently shared insights into his early struggles in Bollywood, revealing the odd jobs he had to take to make ends meet.
Speaking at Yuvaa's All Star Roundtable, Singh recalled working as an assistant director on the 2005 film Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi. He reminisced about carrying a young Ishaan Khatter, who was around eight years old at the time and featured in the film as a child artist, onto the set. "Ishaan is sitting here. In 2004, he was a kid, and I used to bring him to set in my lap, when I was the assistant director on Vaah Life Ho Toh Aisi," Singh said.
Singh, who finally achieved a significant breakthrough in 2025 with his performances in Chhaava and Superboys of Malegaon, experiencing both commercial success and critical acclaim, emphasized the importance of survival during his early years. "It was my dream to work as an actor, but circumstances do not always allow you. There are situations in life where survival is important. Your story survives if you survive. If you die, what remains? Nobody would want to talk about you," he stated.
During his struggling days, Singh took on various roles, including being a body double for Suniel Shetty and even playing a dead body for Sanjay Dutt. "Suniel Shetty sahab ka duplicate bhi kiya hai, Sanju baba ke liye dead body bhi bana hoon," Singh said. He emphasized the importance of keeping the "flame alive" within oneself and continuing to move forward. "The only thing is to keep that lamp burning within you. If it stops burning, nobody would come asking for you," Singh added.
Singh began his acting journey with a minor role in the 2002 film Pitaah, starring Sanjay Dutt. He then took on small roles in several films. In 2012, he received recognition for his supporting role in Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur. He played the lead role in the 2018 film Mukkabaaz.
In an earlier interview with Bollywood Bubble, Singh compared his journey to that of Ishaan Khatter, who comes from a film family. Singh recalled seeing Alia Bhatt, Pooja Bhatt's younger sister, sitting on Mahesh Bhatt's lap on the set of the 2007 film Dhokha. Singh acknowledged Alia Bhatt's talent but highlighted the importance of timely opportunities, noting that they can change one's life.
Despite the challenges, Singh persevered, driven by the desire to succeed and inspire others from his community to pursue their dreams. "I never wanted the case that a boy in my neighborhood is discouraged from becoming an actor because I went for it and nothing came out of that. I never wanted to be that story. It was important for me to survive for that. So, a lot of times, you need to take decisions like that," Singh explained.
