Rs 2 crore debt, sold vegetables outside son's school: How this famous TV actor, a DU graduate, made a comeback

Once, Rajesh Kumar was drowning in debt and dealing with one business loss after the other. He had lost over Rs 2 crore and had just Rs 2,500 left in his bank after one of his business endeavours failed to take off. However, the ‘ Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’ actor managed to get past these setbacks and finally made his acting comeback. In an interview with Dainik Bhaskar, he said that once he had to resort to sell vegetables in front of his son’s school to earn a livelihood.

Rajesh shared that he began farming in 2019, leasing 20 acres of land in Palghar. However, disaster struck when all 15,000 saplings he planted were destroyed by an unexpected flood. "That area had never experienced a flood before, but that year it rained so heavily that everything was wiped out. It was a tough beginning," he explained.

His second attempt at farming was also met with difficulties when the Covid-19 lockdown was enforced, preventing him from working on the farm for three months. This led to 75% of his crops being ruined. By November, Rajesh made a third effort. "We used my car to transport cow dung, and my kids refused to get in the car afterward," he joked. But just as things seemed to be improving, a fire ravaged his farm, destroying half of his crops. "I was devastated. I thought I couldn’t go on. It felt impossible," he recalled.

Determined to persevere, Rajesh shifted to growing vegetables. "I eventually set up a table outside my son's school and started selling the vegetables. That was when the EMIs started bouncing, and debt collectors from credit cards began visiting my home. I was deep in debt. We left the farm behind, and then my acting career took a positive turn," he explained.

Rajesh returned to acting, securing a role in ' Binny and Family', which was filmed in the UK. However, he was in such a difficult financial situation that he couldn’t even buy chocolates for his children. "I only had Rs 2,500 in my bank account while in the UK. I traveled back and forth twice during the 24-day shoot, but I couldn’t even bring home two chocolates for my kids," he shared with emotion.

Rajesh made his comeback to acting with ' Kota Factory 2', taking on a minor role as a math teacher. He also appeared in 'Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya' alongside Shahid Kapoor and in 'Rautu Ka Raaz', which starred Nawazuddin Siddiqui.