Ruhaan Saapru says, “The most successful person for me in India is Shah Rukh Khan”!

Actor Ruhaan Saapru, who has been part of Ek Veer ki Ardaas – Veera, Sadda Haq, Jhalli Anjali, and then Kalash, says that you cannot just depend on luck for your success. The actor adds that success is also relative and one needs to view life in totality.

“I have seen ups and downs in my life and career. I have seen people who are favoured by luck. But, I guess, I belong to the other category of people where you have to give in your 100% hard work and 0% luck. So, in the 10 years of my career, I have understood one thing that luck is only a factor which may or might not work every time and there is nothing you can do about it. Also, in today’s lifestyle, it is not possible to put hard work into everything. People need everything quickly today, be it money or a career. I believe in smart work. Smart Work is something where you know a bit of everything and how to apply it in your day-to-day life,” he says.

Talking about success, he says, “The first time when I felt successful was on the night when I won my first Beauty Pageant, Mr and Miss Pune. That evening was unforgettable for me. I still remember the sight of the audience cheering for me and the girls running up the stage to click pictures with me. It was one of the most memorable evenings of my life.”

He adds, “When we were young, we used to feel that success is in achieving this or that. But now, I think that success is not just materialistic. Success lies in everything you do, big or small. For me, if I am able to bring a smile to my parent’s face or if I have been helpful to others, that is success for me.”

Ask him who is the most successful person in the world, and he says, “For me, the most successful person in my life is my father because he has taught me how to work hard and make it to the top. Because he has taught me that there are no shortcuts in life. He sacrificed his comfort and stayed alone away from the family for 20 years so that we could get a better lifestyle, better education, and luxury. So I look up to him as my idol and I am what I am because of him. Then the most successful person for me in India is Shah Rukh Khan because he has taught us how a middle-class boy can be one of the biggest superstars in the world. Lastly, the most successful person in the world according to me is Jeff Bezos (The founder of Amazon). I am really inspired by him and I take him as my idol because he has taught us that age is just a number and you can start your career at any age. So, I think if I look up to these people whom I admire, one day I might become like them.”

However, he says, one must tread carefully with success. “It’s a true saying that what goes up must come down and we have seen this happening to people in our film fraternity and also other fields. I personally feel that instead of being proud of your success, you must be thankful to God and to your audience for your success. If we keep this attitude in life. There is no fear of falling from any height that you have achieved. I also strongly believe that if success and simplicity both walk hand-in-hand, it creates a masterpiece,” he says.

Keerti Kadam.