Shekhar Suman has always been focused on just one thing — not compromising on his principles when it comes to work. And the actor has managed to follow that till this day, even if it meant turning down people and ruffling a few feathers.

However, Suman, who is gearing up for his digital debut with the series AK 47, shares that one’s career is definitely impacted if a few people take your rejection to their offer in the wrong way. “You can’t have it all. You win some, you lose some. In life, you will be kicking a few egos. I remember I was offered the role of Chunni Lal in Devdas (2002). I didn’t want to say no, but I was neck deep in work then. Saying no to Sanjay (Leela Bhansali, director) might have hurt him, but I was helpless,” shares the 59-year-old, who returned to TV after a long absence as a judge on a comedy show.

Suman prefers to tell people straight to their faces if he is not going to do their project, instead of dilly dallying the refusal. That, he feels, helps. “Sometimes, you are frank and say, ‘I don’t like the role’. Those people never come back. Some of them understand where I am coming from. I am being honest, instead of saying things like, ‘Come tomorrow, I am thinking, speak to my secretary’. I decide things instinctively and say no to not doing them. If they feel hurt, too bad; I am not going to do anything about it,” he admits.