Actor Sara Arjun is set to make her Bollywood debut opposite Ranveer Singh in Dhurandhar, and while the age gap between the two actors has sparked conversation online, her father, actor Raj Arjun, says he remains unfazed. Best known for his performance in Secret Superstar (2017), Raj shares that he is simply proud to see his 20-year-old daughter take this next step after working across regional cinema as a child and teen actor.

“As working professionals, who has the time to think about all this? I tell Sara the same. These things are just cherries on top. The real, meditative space is doing your work.”

He adds that external validation cannot be the compass. “Some will write good things. Many will write negative things. It is all part of the profession. I have made her promise that, come what may, she will be the happiest person in the world. Everything else follows when you keep moving forward.”

Raj says Sara’s journey began unexpectedly when she was spotted in a mall at the age of two and a half. “I came from Bhopal in 1999 to become an actor. I never thought my daughter would become one. Her journey took off naturally. Later, I sent her to a school in Coimbatore so she could decide for herself what she wanted. She returned, and offers began again. I did not have any role in shaping it.”

As a father, however, he has always been a quiet guide. “I accompanied her everywhere and helped her mature emotionally. My biggest advice has always been to be real. Be a little less, but never fake it. Agar rona nahi aa raha hai to udaas ho jaao.”

Raj says he is happy that Sara now has her own process. “She has been working since she was a kid, so she has her own individuality. Whenever she asks, I advise her based on my experience, but it is always just guidance. My father was never strict with me, and I have followed the same. I give my children freedom. I have treated them more as a friend than a father.”

The film business is tough, and it is especially hard for actors to make it big given the volume of talent in the industry, feels actor Raj Arjun. Sharing his own ordeal, he says that despite being consistent with his performances, he had to struggle for more than a decade.

“I was trying to break the wall and the wall is invisible, so I was just throwing my hands here and there. It’s so uncertain. I was banging on each and every door. I remember I didn’t leave any stone unturned,” says Arjun, who started his career with Black Friday in 2007.

Recently seen in Thalaivii, the actor reveals that he was always ahead of his peers when it came to presenting himself on the professional front and yet the outcome wasn’t as he expected. “I was very updated. When people used to send out photos, I had my CV. When people used CV, I was already on pen drives and would distribute it to casting people. When people got to pen drives, I was doing it on my ipad,” he shares, adding that he soon realised that it was all futile as he was already typecast by filmmakers.

“What I realised was that people started seeing me as one and two-scene actor and that was a problem. I thought that I may not be able to break the wall after all,” he says.

What followed was a break from acting. “So then I took a break… main thahar gaya. I decided I won’t do these small roles which I was doing for 10-12 years. As an actor, I wasn’t satisfied with that work. I was doing them just because of the greed that someone someday will notice me and offer me something big,” Arjun shares, revealing that he didn’t gain anything from the small roles he did for long. “I was neither getting recognition nor money. I don’t blame anybody for this,” he says.

Indeed, taking a step back worked in his favour. “I don’t like asking for any favour in life... I felt shy asking for work. So when I took a step back, that is when Secret Superstar (2017) happened and changed things for me,” he ends, terming the musical drama as the turning point in his life.