Sameer Arora, who is currently seen as Kabir Miranda in TV show Bin Kuch Kahe, says he left his home in Nainital at the age of 17 as he wanted to become an actor, but his parents were against the profession.
"I thought about acting when I was 10 or 12 years old. One day my teacher asked me to take part in a school play and essay the role of a king. Initially, I declined that opportunity and later she made me do it. After that play, I thought of being an actor," Sameer told.
"I used to tell my parents while watching TV shows and films that I want to be an actor. But my parents were against this profession. So I ran away from my home at 17 and lived in Delhi and worked there for three years. Then I shifted to Mumbai and while tackling financial crisis I gave acting auditions," he added.
Sameer shared that at first he lied about his work to his parents, but they later got to know about it and accepted him as an actor.
"At first, I didn't tell my parents why I am going to Mumbai from Delhi. I said that my company is giving me an internal transfer for three months. Then those three months became six months and my parents asked me when I will come back," Sameer said.
"But then my dad saw my first print ad. He is a clothes merchant. I did my photoshoot for Siyaram's. When my father saw my photo on the brand's product, he said, 'Okay, do it. One day when you will face reality then you will come back home'. But I never thought of moving back. Later they accepted me happily," he added.
Sameer, who made his debut with Bin Kuch Kahe, earlier worked as an assistant director to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the 2013 film Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela.
"I have acted in a few ads and short films earlier. Then I decided to assist a director and approached Sanjay sir for a year. He then took me as his assistant director in Ram-Leela.
"He liked my work and kept me and said he liked my face. For Ranveer Singh's rehearsals, I used to stand in front of the camera when the lighting works was being done. Somewhere he liked my face and advised me to be an actor," Sameer said.
Talking about his character in Bin Kuch Kahe, Sameer said: "It's a challenging character for me as he is half Brazilian and half Indian. He is a journalist so, I had to do a lot of research for this character."
The Zee TV show, which is a finite series of 180 episodes, is currently being shot here.