This generation must know actor Sudhanshu Pandey because of the TV show Anupama. Some may have seen him in Rajinikanth's film '2.0'. However, this is not the real identity of Sudhanshu. In the 90s, when models were the age, Sudhanshu Pandey was one of the few supermodels in the industry. Big actors like John Abraham were also his juniors. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also praised her look.
Sudhanshu Pandey was born in Badayon, but his home was in Gorakhpur. Studied in Bareilly. He was so aggressive that he carried a gun to school. Sudhanshu's height made him different from others. Started modeling at the age of 18. Then got a parallel lead role in Akshay Kumar's film 'Khiladi 420'.
He was also a part of the famous band group 'Band of Boys'. The girls were crazy about him. Seeing him on stage, girls used to throw their underwear. He put a lot of pressure on himself with everything going well. Got depressed. Mahakala went to Ujjain to seek refuge.
Now Sudhanshu Pandey's success story, in his own words
There was a 30-room mansion in Gorakhpur 'I was born in Badayun in Uttar Pradesh. However, the house was built in Gorakhpur. Because my father was in railways. They kept changing. There were only four people in the house, my parents, me and one of my brothers. There was a 30-room mansion-like house in Gorakhpur. There was a lot of vacant land nearby. We used to grow vegetables there.'
In his childhood, he wanted to join the army 'I wanted to join the army as a child. I have always been a staunch nationalist. When someone lies about a country, blood boils. I took admission in the Air Force School, Bareilly with the intention of joining the Army. Well, I wanted to join the army, but my studies didn't suit me.'
Sudhanshu was born on August 22, 1974. Apart from being an actor, Sudhanshu is also a singer, writer and producer
He used to carry a loaded gun to school 'I used to get bullied a lot during school. In other words, he was very bully. At the age of 15 he was carrying a loaded revolver. It was like you didn't get respect unless you did something dangerous.'
'I had a bike. He kept a gun hidden in his seat. Half the boys at school had a problem with my looks. He had a problem as to why I was walking with a limp. Why I Bike in Style People were enmity over small things.'
Modeling at age 18, fee 25000 rupees 'I turned 18. One day I saw an advertisement in a newspaper for a modeling agency based in Delhi. He was looking for a model. My brother encouraged me to go into it. Father also supported.
I went to Delhi with a Pathani suit and curly hair. My photo was taken there. A few days later the call came back. He chose me and also talked about paying a fee of Rs 25,000. This was in 1994. My father's salary was not even 25,000 rupees. I was totally taken aback.'
A modeling career was going well, however Going to Mumbai decided Sudhanshu's modeling career was going well in Delhi. Suddenly he decided to go to Mumbai. He says, 'I decided to go to Mumbai, but I had no one there. There was no provision for food and lodging.'
'Dino Morea (actor) and I became good friends because of modeling. He lived in Bangalore and I lived in Delhi. We both were planning to stay together in Mumbai. However, in the meantime I got married. Then Dino had to go alone because I was going to shift with my wife.'
Photo of Sudhanshu during modeling. He was 21 years old at that time
'After coming to Mumbai, I did many ad films. Did many fashion shows. I did ad films with Shashi Kapoor's son Kunal Kapoor. After this I started getting offers for TV serials. Did TV shows with Ravi Chopra and Balaji Telefilms.'
Akshay Kumar sent his brother to Sudhanshu 'Meanwhile, in 2000, I made my debut with Akshay Kumar's film 'Khiladi 420'. Actually, Akshay himself wanted me to work with him in this film. He sent one of his cousins to me. I already knew his cousin, he was a good friend.'
He said that brother (Akshay) wants to do a film with you. I went to Filmistan Studio. The film's director Neeraj Vora was also present there. He cast me as a parallel lead actor to Akshay Kumar in the film.
Seeing his performance, the girls started throwing their clothes on the stage Sudhanshu was also a part of the famous band group 'Band of Boys'. This band produced many songs. This band was an amazing craze for the group. Sudhanshu said, 'It was around 2003 or 2004. We were performing in a stadium in Ahmedabad.'
'There I saw that the girls were crying. People were tearing their clothes in happiness. Sometimes the girls would take off their undergarments and throw them at us.'
'Band of Boys' consisted of a team of 5 people. The band stopped as soon as Sudhanshu (second from right) left the group. Now it has been restarted
Management took away half of the band's earnings 'Because of the band, I stayed away from acting completely for two-three years, which was my fault. I should have done films in between. This would have accelerated my career. I got a lot of popularity from the band, but no money. Perhaps, the band's management team was responsible for this.'
“The management used to take 40 to 50 percent of whatever money came in. The remaining half of the money was shared among our 5 people team. From here the bell of awakening in life started ringing. I started getting a little worried. I left the band with a heavy heart.'
'One day I had a panic attack in a restaurant, my whole body started shaking' It was in 2007, one day I was sitting in a restaurant with a friend. While talking suddenly my hands and feet started swelling. Breath stopped. The whole body started shaking. In a way, it was the first panic attack. The doctor gave medicine.'
'After taking that medicine I became completely relaxed. That laxity drove me to depression. Tears started coming from the eyes while sitting. Stared at the window all day. He used to cry seeing his son. During depression, a person goes through such a completely dark phase that he himself does not know when he starts crying.'
took refuge in Mahakala, came out of depression after four years 'One day I contacted my childhood friend Priyank Mishra through Facebook. He attended school with me. He took me to Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain. As soon as I went to Mahakal's court, my mood started to change. There I met a Mahatma.'
'Stayed under his umbrella. It took about four years to finally fully recover from depression. If a weak-hearted person had been in my place, he would have harmed himself.'
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. It is believed that a visit here fulfills all wishes.
'Despite Depression Worked In 'Singh Is King'' 'I was definitely depressed, but didn't stop doing films. In 2007, he went to Australia for the shooting of 'Singh is King'. Co-star Ranveer Shorey helped a lot there'.
'He gave me medicine to take whenever I felt unwell or troubled. I am struggling with depression, only Ranveer Shorey knew this. He was also suffering from this disease. Even went to the hospital.'
Johnny Lever sprinkled holy water on the head, lived in the neighborhood 'Johnny Lever lived on the top floor of my house. One day I got very upset. I called them and asked for help. They brought holy water with them and sprinkled it on my head. This gave me great relief. At that time Brother Johnny became God's messenger to me. Later, I sold that expensive house of mine.'
'I realized that there was a negative energy in that house, which was not allowing me to move forward. I sold my house to a pilot. Interestingly, after staying for a few days, the pilot sold the house to Jonibhai. Now Johnny's brother's children live in that house.'
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
