There was a time when Harish Kumar was a popular name in Bollywood, having featured in films such as Prem Qaidi (1991), Coolie No. 1 (1995), Hero No. 1 (1997) and Aunty No. 1 (1998). But, the actor has been away from the limelight for quite a while now, and the reason for this, he says, is a back injury that he suffered.

“I am very much in India, sometimes in Chennai, Hyderabad or Mumbai. But, I left showbiz for a very personal reason, which I do not like to talk about much,” Kumar continues, “I suffered a major back injury which left me bedridden, and also became my reason to leave showbiz.”

The 46-year-old goes on to say, “It was a major slip disc, with issues in my L3 and L5. The situation was so bad that I couldn’t even go to the washroom. I was very careless when I was young, and didn’t realise when I got this injury; pata hi nahi laga mujhe. But, I didn’t want to go for any operation. Kabhi kabhi ho jata hai life mein, aisa samay aa jata hai.”

And Kumar doesn’t blame anyone for the downfall in his career. “Pehle pehle doctor ne do saal kaam karne ko mana kar diya. Uske baad pata hi nahin chala ke kahan kho gaya main,” he confesses, but is quick to say he doesn’t think about his past with any sour feeling, for he has accepted his fate.

“I am very happy and content with the journey I have had. I started when I was a kid, and became a male lead in my teens. Jaisa hota hai, theek hi hota hai… Shayad main bahut jaldi bhaag raha tha, isliye life slow ho gayi,” the actor opines.

Kumar entered the world of films as a child actor, and went on to work in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films, sharing screen space with big names, including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Govinda, Mithun Chakraborty, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jeetendra and Dharmendra. He is also known to be actor Karisma Kapoor’s first hero, in Prem Qaidi.

“I have done over 300 films in my career, but I don’t know why people remember me for Prem Qaidi. However, I am really humbled that I still get so much love and people still remember me, even when I have not acted for a long time,” mentions Kumar, who was last seen in Aa Gaya Hero (2017).

During his time away from films, he kept himself busy by working on scripts, screenplay and dialogues of his projects, which he would like to turn into reality soon. “I also did yoga, and I am glad that my family was with me during the tough times,” he says.

Kumar still gets several television offers, and was even approached once to enter the Bigg Boss house. He explains, “Coming back is important, but I want to direct. I have worked on a very big script, and want to make my own film soon.”