"I grew up in a small home in a Parsi colony. When I was a kid, I used to be very insecure about my lopsided lower lip I felt like there was something missing in me. The other kids in my society would tease me about it too and exclude me from the group.
I never spoke about it to my family though, because I was ashamed of it. So I would overcompensate by being friendlier than required to be accepted, to be allowed to be a part of the gang. This insecurity and my habit of overcompensation continued throughout my teenage years and well into my adulthood.
I come from a middle class background, so I always associated money with success. And at the time, merchant navy was the only field that paid handsomely, so I decided to sign up for it. I was halfway through it, when my girlfriend, who was a model, asked me to join her for a photoshoot. And I did why not?
A few months later, the shipping industry was hit by recession and I sat at home, doing nothing for 6 months! That's when my brother encouraged me to apply for Grasim Mr. India to make me feel productive. I used the photoshoot pictures for my portfolio, and to my surprise, I got shortlisted.
But these pageants are breeding grounds for insecurity. I was surrounded by men who were better looking and more talented than me. After completing 10 days of grooming, I walked up to the pageant runner and confessed that instead of feeling more confident, I was feeling worse than before. And even after I won the title, I still didn't feel sure about myself.
I even went to a renowned smile specialist asking him to fix my smile. He assured me that it was what made me stand apart from the crowd. But it wasn't until much later that I felt at peace with it. After my first TV show, fans messaged me on social media and said that the best thing about me was my smile. This was when I realised that the only person holding me back was myself!
But the struggles never really end. I was now facing different issues. Once I won the pageant, I was put into a box of good looking men those who can't act. I was stereotyped! I auditioned more than a 1000 times before I got my first break. But it still took me another 15 years to work with my wishlist director!
More than two decades later, I've now come to a place where I understand that problems never really end. They only evolve with your circumstances. Success to me is no longer about fame or money, it's just about having better problems. So for every hurdle that I cross, I now take a minute to pat myself on the back before gearing up for the next big challenge.
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Humans of Bombay in association with#FlipOnErosNow brings to you stories of people who have dealt with uncertainties and insecurities that life throws your way and have emerged triumphant.