My parents never wanted me to be an actor: Harshad

"My parents never wanted me to be an actor as they didn't know about the field and feared how they would be able to help me in it. But now when they see me climbing up the ladder of success, they are very happy and very supportive," Harshad told IANS.

Harshad, who comes from Gondia, a small town in Maharashtra, made his acting debut with a negative character in Zee TV's serial "Mamta".

However, he garnered popularity with his role as Cadet Ali Baigh in "Left Right Left". He later joined the cast of "Amber Dhara" and then went on to play the lead in Balaji's show "Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil".

He is now seen playing the role of Anuraag in yet another Balaji serial "Taryay Liyay", currently being aired on Star Plus. The serial also has actress Anupriya Kapoor of "Miley Jab Hum Tum" fame as Taani.

The 27-year-old actor insists that he never had any ambitions or set goals in life but had a hidden desire to be an actor.

"I never had any ambitions in life. My parents asked me to do engineering and I went on to do it. I could never tell them I wanted to be an actor. But after completing my engineering I decided to come to Mumbai to try acting," he added.

"I realised that acting is my true passion. I had never worked for three to four days at a stretch before, but here I am doing it and even enjoying it," he added.

However, Harshad admits that his road to success was not an easy one, but it was the passion for acting that helped him clear the obstacles.

"Today when I look back, there was a lot of struggle. It even makes me think how did I make it to this stage. It was the passion that kept me running," he said.

With a successful career comes lots of audience expectations and Harshad admits that the rising expectations of his fans sometimes makes him nervous.

"There are a lot of expectations riding on me which sometimes scare me. I don't want people to say that Harshad doesn't know acting and it's his luck that keeps him going because I have worked really hard to reach wherever I am today. I don't want to disappoint them," he added.