You need to party with the who’s who of the industry to get good opportunities — every artiste who is struggling to make it big in the movie industry must have heard this from someone or another, and Adhyayan Suman is no different.

“[People used to tell me] ‘Arre jaa na, party kar na industry ke logo ke saath, mix around with them’. But my reply used to be, ‘Mere party karne se kaam kaise mil jaaega?’ Also, you can’t just go and party with anyone and everyone. If you are a nobody and haven’t done something big yet, they (industry biggies) are not going to invite you. Either you need to be successful or be a childhood friend or a star kid to chill with them,” recalls the actor, who made his debut in showbiz in 2008. 

Despite his reservations, Suman admits that he has attended many industry parties in the past: “I have had casting directors call me at 2 am and say, ‘Abhi aaja uthkar’. They woke me up at odd times and asked me, ‘Ki abhi aaja party karne raat ko’, and I have gone to parties. I was desperate for work. But after a few times, I felt like a dog. Usne abhi bola uth jaao, phir bola baith jaao. If you deny them, you are hurting their fragile egos.” 

Suman, who has a few projects lined up, including Con Man and Trapped, as well as Inspector Avinash with actor Randeep Hooda, points out the assumption that social media influencers are a perfect fit for a show, irrespective of their acting skills, as another prevalent trend, especially these days: “What has Instagram popularity got to do with how you are as an actor? But now you are being compared to people with one million followers. And aapke utne followers nahin hain toh aap ko cast nahin karenge. It has become ridiculous.”