In 2008, Danish Bhat, a small village boy from south Kashmir, followed his childhood dream of becoming an actor all the way to Mumbai. Five years and countless commercials later he is all set to make it big in Bollywood. Syed Asma talks to him before his first film Dunno Y2 is set for release.

Danish Bhat
Danish Bhat

A six feet tall guy with hazel brown eyes hailing from Surath-Kulgam, Danish Bhat, is all set to make his debut in a Bollywood movie, DunnoY 2. The film would be an Indian -Norwegian combo directed by Sanjay Sharma, an Indian citizen, and Tonje, a Norwegian citizen. Danish is playing the role of Pakistani businessman, Imran in the film. His co-actors include Pakistani actors Meera Khan and Sadia Khan; and Indian actors Zeenat Aman, Yuvraj and Kapil Sharma. Meera is playing Danish’s wife and Zeenat his mother.

The 24-year-old Danish has studied in a local school in his village up to Class 7th and then moved to Iqbal Memorial Education Institute in Anantnag, South Kashmir. Wanting to be an actor since childhood, he chose to pursue his graduation in Mumbai. Pursuing graduation seems just an excuse. As immediately after moving to Mumbai apart from joining Sri Ram College for pursuing a Bachelor’s in Science, Danish joined a film school, ‘Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute’.

“I did a four-month film course in that institute which has produced hundreds of actors of Bollywood, Hritik Roshan is one of them,” says Danish.

Living in Mumbai for the past five years, Danish has been busy with various assignments. He started his career, which is still in its advent, with modelling in 2008. His first assignment was with Priyanka Chopra for L’official magazine, he says: “It was a superb experience and I worked with her again later in a red carpet shoot. It has been amazing.”

Danish also has been a part of some television commercials and fashion shoots for Godrej, Citibank, Nokia, Reliance 3G, Loop mobile network, Big Bazar, Westside, Sunsilk and Prime Czar.

He adds: “I am not exaggerating, but I seriously do not remember the number of modelling assignments I have done so far. I have been doing it for the past five years now.”

Apart from posing for different photographers and various brands, he has shot a music video with Hritik Roshan for a show on Star Plus, ‘Just Dance’. Besides, he recently walked on a ramp donning black and gold outfits of designer Shantano Goenka from his collection ‘kruhun’ during Lakme Fashion Week 2013, Winter Festive. The collection included the beauty of sequined sheeting, delicate Zardosi and beautiful Kashmiri Tilla work.

Danish introduces himself as the present ‘king of print campaigns’ and says, he now wants to live his childhood dream of becoming an actor. He, of late, has been a part of two short films as well including ‘Now or Never’ and ‘Love Eternal’.

“I have been struggling for past five years now but a soap-opera on Life Ok, Amrit Manthan, changed my life,” Danish says, “Modelling has helped me to work on my looks but the daily-soap made me a prominent face and film directors started noticing me,” says Danish.

After appearing in a daily soap, Danish did a cameo in Kareena Kapoor starrer and Madhur Bhandarkar directed movie, ‘Heroine’. “I have a few new projects in the pipeline as well,” he says.

Belonging to a middle-class family from Kulgam, Danish, son of Mohammed Ishaq Bhat, a District Forest Officer, says just five years ago he was a normal, lean village boy who dreamt of being an actor but over all these years he worked on his looks and body. “I did not look this way when I came to Mumbai, but to get adjusted here and to get good offers, I had to work very hard, harder than one can imagine,” he says.

Besides, to brush up his acting skills and to learn proper diction, he joined theatre as well. “Every region leaves a mother tongue influence in your diction. To be a successful actor I had to get away with it and for that I had to work on it. I am still working on it,” says Danish.

Danish is hopeful to have a “shining” Bollywood carrier and says he is getting good response for his earlier work as well.

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