83 actor Tahir Raj Bhasin says he was rejected 250-300 times in auditions

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin has said that he was rejected around 250-300 times in auditions, before he broke out in Mardaani, starring Rani Mukerji. Tahir has since appeared in films such as Chhichhore and Force 2.

In an interview, Tahir admitted that he came to Mumbai with big dreams, but soon realised the harsh reality. He said that he anticipated he'd bag a Dharma or a Yash Raj Films project within a week of arriving in Mumbai.

"I had actually come with a big dream, that I'd come to Bombay and bag a Yash Raj or Dharma film in a week," he told RJ Siddharth Kannan. "But the reality of Bombay you only find out when you get here. It takes you three months to find a house here, roles are another thing altogether," he said in Hindi.

Asked how many times he's faced rejection in auditions, he said, "It took me around four years before that audition for Mardaani came along. Every audition in which I was rejected contributed in some way to the audition that I gave for Mardaani... I have been anywhere between rejected 250-300 times, in total, including ads, films, everything."

Tahir will soon be seen in the sports drama 83, which has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the film, about the Indian cricket team's underdog victory at the 1983 World Cup, Tahir plays Sunil Gavaskar. He will also appear in Looop Lapeta and Bulbul Tarang.

Also read: Tahir Raj Bhasin: Very confident Kabir Khan has a winner on hand with ‘83

In an interview with Hindustan Times, he said that he is 'very confident' that director Kabir Khan has a winner on his hands with 83. He said, "83 was an experience for me. When Kabir came and told me, I said wow, it’s going to be shot like the real players went and played the World Cup decades ago. We all moved to UK for three and a half months and played in the same stadiums. A film made on this scale, we were fortunate that it was made then, it would be very difficult in today’s time."