Where is Mihir Virani of ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi…’ now: Amar Upadhyay became an overnight star 23 years ago, said – I have been unlucky many times too

Actor Amar Upadhyay became famous in every household 23 years ago with ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’. Even today people recognize him more by the name of Mihir Virani. He became a TV superstar overnight, but the success did not last long. According to Amar, he has faced many failures in his career but he does not regret any of his decisions.

I had no mentor in the industry

During a special conversation with Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Upadhyay talked openly about the ups and downs in his career. He said, ‘There was a time when I used to take every decision myself. I had no mentor in this industry. I have tried the trial method many times in my career – should I take this role or not, should I leave my ongoing work for a new offer or not? In this dilemma, sometimes a person proves to be lucky and sometimes not. I have been unlucky many times. I had left my ongoing work, doing 3 TV shows, 4 films simultaneously, it was all hectic. During ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu’, I used to do 3 shows simultaneously. That period was difficult. When I left ‘Because…’ it felt right to me at that time.

Some decisions turned out to be right and some I failed in.

He further said, ‘I had taken some decisions in my life which perhaps seemed right to me at that time but it did not turn out as I thought. However, now it would not be right to call those decisions wrong. I just took chances, some decisions proved right and I failed in some.

Have been working since the age of 16
Amar started his acting career at the age of 16. Amar said that earlier he started acting just for time pass. He said. ‘I started working at the age of 16. Earlier I used to act only for timepass but when I started getting money and became famous, then I thought of moving forward in this field. I shot for ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’ for one and a half years. After that Jaya Bachchan ji offered me another show – Arzoo and Bas Phir Kya, this trend continued in television. Then I got ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and after that I never looked back.

Made debut in 1998

Amar made his big screen debut in the year 1998 with the film ‘Dhundhte Reh Jaaoge’. In the last two decades, he has appeared in many films, although the film ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ released last year is considered a game changer. Regarding this he said, ‘See, the best thing in my career was that people have always respected me but after ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ the makers took notice. Not only this, the attitude of the audience towards me and my work also changed. Now people started accepting me in films. Now my fans are calling me ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’ actor apart from Mihir of ‘Kyunki…’. Believe me, this is a big thing for me.

Playing a disabled character in the show ‘Dori’

These days, Amar is playing a disabled character in the show ‘Dori’. During our conversation, the actor talked about his character in the show. ‘Most of the characters I have played so far were of rich people. I had been wishing for a long time that I should do something on screen where the makers would show me poor. Moreover, this character is disabled, it was a bit challenging for me. To look natural on screen, I have worked very hard. Worked a lot on my body language. It really feels good when people appreciate your work and hard work.