Most known for being the face of the Imperial Blue “Men will be Men” series of ads; Arpit Sharma’s (@thearpitsharma) journey to becoming an Actor, Anchor and Host have not been easy, but through perseverance and commitment, he has overcome all obstacles and is an actor to be on the lookout for.
After having lived in Mumbai for over 20 years, Arpit can now say he is a “Mumbaikar”. But when he was a young boy, as his dad was in the Navy, the family kept shifting residences all over India. His father would encourage him to take part in all the extra-curricular activities in school, and his Mother would ensure he kept his grades up. So while he was consistently a top student, Arpit also played nearly every sport.
In 12th grade, Arpit had to change schools in the middle of the academic year. However this didn’t faze him, and along with being his school topper, his marks were the 5th highest score in all of Mumbai.
Arpit then decided to pursue an engineering degree, a course that he could get into with ease, due to his high scores. After the course, he immediately got a job at an IT firm. After four years of working, he decided to quit his job, as he did not feel happy.
When he was considering other options, Arpit remembers hearing stories from his friend who was an actor. This inspired him to get into Theatre. Even though he had no experience in the field, he was often asked by other artists ‘You’ve done professional theatre before, haven’t you?’ Arpit took it as a huge compliment and continued in theatre for 5 years.
During this period Arpit also did various TV commercials. He also started his career as an anchor when he accidentally walked into an audition for TV hosts. On doing the audition, the producers at audition thought he did a good job and were surprised how much he enjoyed it. However, he now notes that due to his lack of networking, and his hesitancy to do live events, he missed out on a lot of opportunities presented to him at the time.
Arpit describes his struggles in the following years, from 2014 to 2015, as being one of the worst times in his life. “A lot of the events that I was supposed to do, fell through. I was even selected to host the cricket World cup in Australia that year, but at the last minute I was dropped”, he says.
Through his cousin, Arpit landed an assistant producer’s job on The Voice. “It was a job that young 20-year-olds would be doing, but I’m grateful for it, because it got me out of the house and out of that low place, and helped me find purpose”, he says.
After The Voice, he started getting more and more events to host, and started enjoying doing live events. He also started hosting events in sports and hosted the 2016 Badminton League on Star Sports.
In 2016, Arpit decided to take his work more seriously. He decided that he would start networking and finding acting and anchoring events wherever he could. In the course of time, he met his then-manager who not only helped him get gigs but higher-paying events as well.
Arpit says “I remember being at this audition, and there was a TV displaying the Logo for the Champions League, which I loved. I just took a photo with that display, and a couple of months later I get a call asking me if I’d be willing to host the Champions League.” He has also hosted the World Cup, and The Asian Games.
Arpit is now an Anchor, Actor and Host. His advice to people is, “Regarding your work, listen only to the opinions of those who matter to you. If you have tested your abilities and you think you’ve passed with flying colours, then put all of your effort on it. And if there is something that doesn’t make you happy, leave it behind.”
SUPER HERO…INSPIRING â£