At 15, he packed his dreams and moved to Mumbai—no influential last name, no industry godfather, no Plan B. Over the years, audiences have embraced him as the charming, emotionally expressive boy-next-door who redefined what a modern leading man could look like. On the Philips LatteGo presents Bombay Times Lounge powered by instax FUJIFILM in association with Skechers & U.S. Polo Assn. that dropped this week, the grounded and self-aware Mismatched star, talks about how heartbreaks shaped him, the people who keep him real and why the new-age hero doesn’t need a cape — just honesty, vulnerability, and a whole lot of heart. This is Rohit Saraf , unfiltered. Watch the full episode on the Bombay Times YouTube channel




I believe it was your father’s dream that you become an actor, but deep down, did you also harbour that dream?

When you grow up hearing something so much, it kind of becomes a part of your being, it becomes a part of your reality. I didn’t think that there was another option. I’ve always heard my father say, ‘I want you to become an actor’, and it didn’t feel like he said it in passing. So, I didn’t have a Plan B. I never gave myself the opportunity to believe that Plan B existed. For me, Plan A (acting) had to happen.







You moved to Mumbai when you were 15 to chase your dreams. However, you missed out on the experience of going to college. Many actors say those wonder years shaped them personally and creatively. For you, did life on set become its own kind of classroom?

I don’t think it’s a place that teaches you things about life, I believe it’s the people and the experiences that teach you things. When my friends were going to college, I was going to set. When they were failing exams, I was failing auditions, and when they were celebrating their percentiles, I was celebrating a different kind of achievement in my career. It’s the people and it’s the experiences that have taught me a lot. Having said that, I think going to college would have been incredible, but I don’t regret the choice I made.




For decades, Bollywood has celebrated the larger-than-life, hypermasculine hero—fearless, muscular, almost invincible. But now we’re seeing a rise in non-alpha leading men who are softer, emotionally expressive, funny, flawed, yet strong. How do you view this shift? The characters you’ve portrayed —whether in Mismatched or Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari—are emotionally available and sensitive. Do you feel audiences today are actively seeking out leading men with these qualities?

Of course, and I think the portrayal of the new-age hero is a reflection of our society. I don’t think it’s just something that can happen if our society doesn’t want it. The kind of heroes we saw earlier are still very celebrated and I, too, want to be one of those - 100%. However, I also think that women don’t need saving, they want to be heard, understood and loved. Women want somebody who can openly cry for them – and I think those are the kind of roles that are being written and I absolutely love them.







Growing up in a home with three sisters, did that shape the way you understand love and relationships? Do you feel it gave you a different perspective, a different lens when it comes to emotions?

The way I am is a lot to do with the kind of upbringing I’ve had. And it’s not just because of my sisters and my mom, I’ve had so many women around me all my life that I can’t ever imagine being any other way. I don’t think anything in my life would allow that, not the people, not my conscience. I do think that my upbringing and the kind of people I’ve had around me throughout my life, which have been a lot of women, have shaped me into what I am today.




You landed in the film industry when you were really young, without any influential backing. The industry isn’t an easy space to navigate. There must have been heartbreaks and rejections, how did you cope with that?

For me, my heartbreaks have been points of reflection in my life. When I came to Mumbai, I knew literally nobody. I didn’t have a single friend here. My family had a business in Delhi and some of our employees and their families lived here, and those are the people who I stayed with for the first four days in this city. I literally had no idea what I was doing. But starting from there to wherever I’ve reached today and the kind of love I enjoy, I don’t think it’s something that I would give up for anything.




How does your family react to all the love and adulation you enjoy? I believe your mom gets Insta DMs from girls who call her mummyji. Is that true?
She loves it. Believe me when I say this, every single thing about me on the internet, my mom has seen it and read it. There are so many times when, by chance, if I’ve behaved in a certain way that she doesn’t agree with, she will tell me that it’s wrong. She’s the one who’s also policing me every day. Somehow, I have managed to find people in my life who love giving me reality checks. From my mom, three sisters and brother, to my two best friends and my manager, who’s also a really close friend – they all give me reality checks. So, I have more than enough people to slap me down whenever they feel I’m not being right.




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