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Salakaar actor Naveen Kasturia opens up about choosing acting over engineering as career, ‘Mujhe humesha se…'
Naveen Kasturia, who plays a pivotal role in the gripping series Salakaar, is not a typical Bollywood hero. An engineer by education, Naveen left behind a stable career path to chase his dream of acting, a decision that came with struggles, uncertainty, and years of perseverance. Known for his raw, relatable performances in shows like TVF Pitchers, Aspirants and Sapne VS Everyone, Naveen gradually became a favorite among OTT audiences. How did Naveen Kasturia decide to pursue acting over engineering?
During a conversation with when Naveen was asked about why he decided to pursue acting as a profession, after being successful engineer, Naveen mentioned that he always wanted to do something to showcase his immense love for cinema. He said, 'Mere time par do hi raaste hote the, ya toh engineer, ya toh medical, toh jo engineering karte the wo engineer ban jate the, jo doctory ki padhai karte the wo doctor ban jate the. School, college mein filmon se inspire hokar plays mein part leta rehta tha, but ye path aapko pata nahi hota ki aapko isme kaise jana hai toh aap uske liye convetional raasta hi follow karte ho aur tabhi maine engineering kari aur uske baad maine job bhi ki, job ke waqt main Uttar Pradesh mein tha 2007 mein and jab aap job kar rahe ho aap thoda paisa kamaa rahe ho tab aap sochna shuru karte ho ki kya mujhe jeevan bhar yahi karna hai, aur tab aap khud decisions lena shuru karte ho, kyunki uske pehle jo decisions ya options apke saamne hote hain tab aap wo nahi karte ho, toh main ye nahi kahunga ki ye mera achanak se liya hua decision tha aur ye bhi nahi keh sakta ki main ise bahut waqt se plan kar raha tha.' (In my time, there were only two paths, either engineering or medical, so those who did engineering became engineers and those who studied medicine became doctors. In school and college, I used to get inspired by films and take parts in plays, but you do not know the path that how to learn in this, so you follow the conventional path for that and that is when I did engineering and after that I also did a job, during my job I was in Uttar Pradesh in 2007 and when you are doing the job and earning some money, then you start thinking whether I want to do this all my life, and then you start taking decisions on your own, because before that whatever decisions or options are in front of you, then you do not take them, then I will not say that this It was a sudden decision of mine and I cannot even say that I was planning it for a long time.) How did Naveen Kasturia's fascination for cinema become his sole purpose?
Naveen further continued and said, 'Gradually, jaisa mera mind mujhe karne ko keh raha tha, main waise hi koshish kar raha tha, kyunki job main bas sirf paise kamaane ke liye nahin kar sakta, kyunki kaam mein maza aana zaruri hai toh is par main sochta tha ki mujhe kis kaam mein maza aata hai aur mujhe humesha se filmein fascinate karti thi, toh uske liye Delhi se Mumbai aana ek difficult step tha, acting ka sochkar nahin aaya tha main, field explore karna chahta tha jismein ki maza aaye, ab life time aap koi kaam kare jisme aapko maza aaye toh life zyada aasaan ho jati hai, paise ko tab main utna mahtva nahi deta tha dimaag mein aur shayad down to earth tha toh paisa wageraah aage ban jayega, aisa sochta tha main aur I think mera jo belief tha uss waqt wo ekdum correct tha, I'm so happy ki main Mumbai aaya, thoda jo maine himmat dikhayi uss wajah se.' (Gradually, as my mind was telling me to do, I was trying that way, because I cannot do a job just to earn money, because it is important to enjoy the work, so I thought about which work I enjoy and I was always fascinated by films, so coming to Mumbai from Delhi was a difficult step for that, I did not think of acting, I wanted to explore a field in which I enjoy, now do some work in your life which you enjoy, then life becomes easier, then I do not give that much importance to money It was in my mind and maybe I was down to earth then I would be able to earn money in the future, I used to think so and I think my belief at that time was absolutely correct, I am so happy that I came to Mumbai, it is because I showed some courage.) What obstacles did Naveen Kasturia encounter when he moved to Mumbai?
Naveen further said, 'Phir yahan aane ke baad aapko pool mein phenk diya gaya, jaise swimming pool mein swimming sikhaai jati hai, wo jaise karte hai ki sikhaate hue aapko pool mein phenk dete hain, toh phir jab aap haath pair maarte hai seekhne ke liye, struggle karne ke liye, survive karne ke liye. Toh Mumbai mein toh aapko bhaagna hi padta ai, survival ke liye, lekin 5-6 mahine mein mere paise khatam ho gaye aur phir survive kare ke liye aapko cheezein chahiye thi aur aap apni marzi ka bhi kaam karna chahte ho toh maine wo apne dimaag se nikaal diya, tab main ads bhi kar raha tha aur main bataur assistant director ki tarah bhi kaam kar raha tha, uske sath-sath main TV ke liye kuch writing ka part bhi kar raha tha and then 'Suleimani Keeda' happened, then TVF happened, then Pitchers happened and today, if somebody meets me and asks me ki kya hoga, bahut doubts hai, toh I tell them that there's no formula, har kisi ki alag journey hai yahan par, sab alag-alag raaston se aaye hain, mere according agar aapka intent clear hai toh phir aap usi direction mein automatically kaam karte hain toh kahin na kahin, kaise naa kaise raaste apne aap banne lag jate hain. Ab aaj main kisi ko ye nahi bata sakta ki ye show kar lo, ye kar lo, ya kis kism ki cheezein aapko karni chahiye, kyunki ye sab step by step and isme kismat ka bahut bada role hota hai, matlab main ye keh hi nahi sakta ki mere plan ke according kuch miracle nahi tha, maine kuch decisions liye the life mein, but kya main karu ya kya mere sath ho sakta ye apke control mein nahin hota, toh mere decisions ki wajah se cheezein hoti gayi, toh mujhe wahi lagta hai ki maze ke liye aaya tha, job chhodkar and I'm happy that things are happening.' (Then after coming here you were thrown into the pool, just like swimming is taught in a swimming pool, like they do that while teaching they throw you in the pool, so then you beat your hands and feet to learn, to struggle, to survive. So in Mumbai you had to run away to survive, but in 5-6 months my money ran out and then you needed things to survive and you also want to do work of your choice, so I removed that from my mind, at that time I was also doing ads and I was also working as an assistant director, along with that I was also doing some writing for TV and then 'Suleimani Keeda' happened, then TVF happened, then Pitchers happened and today, if somebody meets me and asks me what will happen, he has a lot of doubts, then I tell them that there is no formula, everyone has a different journey. Here everything comes from different ways, according to me if your intent is clear then you automatically work in that direction, and who knows what, somehow you start forming your own path. Now today I cannot tell anyone to show this, do that, or what kind of things you should do, because all this happens step by step and luck plays a very big role in it, meaning I cannot say that no miracle happened according to my plan, I had taken some decisions in life, but what I should do or what could happen to me was not in your control, so if things happened due to my decisions, then I still feel that I had come here for fun, after leaving my job and I am happy that things are happening.)
