Sanjeev Jaiswal

A lot of twinkle-eyed dreamers get into the acting industry in the hopes of becoming the next sensation and the subject of unconditional adulation from the masses, but very few can forge a niche for themselves and most end up on the periphery, slogging day and night to survive. Sanjeev Jaiswal is someone who can attest to that fact. Born to a businessman father and a homemaking mother in Jamshedpur where he spent most of his early life, Jaiswal’s upbringing was humble. He attended Motilal Nehru Public School before procuring a ‘Bachelor of Arts’ degree from IGNOU. 

Having honed his acting skills in the Delhi theater scene, Jaiswal started making inroads for himself by participating and being a top ten finalist of Zee TV’s ‘India’s Best Cinestars Ki Khoj’ in 2008 in their Delhi auditions. Following that, he moved to Mumbai and played a small role in an Indian Premier League (IPL) advert. He then played some roles in serials and daily soaps and was well received by the audiences. He was seen on popular Star Plus serial ‘Sasural Genda Phool,’ playing the role of an assistant to a director. 

But it was in 2013 that all the hard work and perseverance Jaiswal had put in paid dividends as from a pool of 500 auditioned actors, he was selected to play the role of Ajmal Kasab (prime accused in the 26/11 terrorist attacks that happened in Mumbai) by Ram Gopal Verma in his 26/11 based movie ‘The Attacks of 26/11’. The movie was released on 1st March, and Jaiswal’s performance was praised and appreciated by both the audience and the media. In many an interview, Jaiswal shared all the psychological challenges that he had to face with the biggest one being that the masses don’t feel that he was only handed the role because he resembled a terrorist. Jaiswal felt that people hated the character he played but liked him as an actor, an outcome one would presume the one he desired. He also received praise from Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942 in A >> Read More... , who said that the young actor played his role convincingly. 

Jaiswal’s story is one of hard work and determination and should inspire a lot of aspiring actors to give up on the concept of giving up.