The good looking Rahul Sharma had a struggle of his own for three years before bagging the role of Akash in Star Plus’ ongoing show Ek Ghar Banaunga (Village Boy Productions). In a candid interview with Tellychakkar.com, the charismatic actor spoke of his journey up the ladder of success. Excerpts: How is it going with Ek Ghar Banaunga? It is going really great and I am enjoying every moment of it. I am finally living my dream and enjoying every bit of it. Tell us about your journey in the industry? Having come from a very small village in Rajasthan, I was all set to join my father’s business. Side by side, I tried my hands at modelling and theatre. Doing a 45 days workshop with National School of Drama, I found my true calling and came over to Mumbai. It was very difficult surviving here but after a few years of struggle, I finally managed to reach this position. How did you grab the role of Akash? (smiles) Initially, I was finalised for a role in a Beyond Dreams’ serial, but things did not work out. Later, I did Tere Mere Love Stories for the same production house, but then I was frustrated waiting for a good role to come my way. Thankfully, the channel had my audition tapes and they finalised me for Ek Ghar Banaunga. Thus started my journey as Akash. How much do you relate to your character? Unlike him, I am educated but the rest seems quite similar. Like Akash, I am also attached to my family and am also very emotional. Like my on screen character, I cannot tolerate any kind of wrong doings and can do anything to keep my family and closed ones happy. With the show in the 6:30pm slot and not gaining much TRPs, does it affect you as an actor? Of course, it sometimes hits you. But then if you look at our time slot, we are the badshaahs there. See people are really enjoying the content of the show and also appreciate it. This love is more valuable to us than anything else. How is your chemistry off screen with your co-star Ishita (Dutta)? She is a very simple and wonderful person. You won’t believe that only after three-four months, I found out that she is Tanushree’s sister. You can imagine how honest and hardworking the girl is to not use her famous sister’s name. She is an innocent friendly girl who is also a wonderful co-actor. What kind of roles would you want to play in the future? After playing the role of a rustic here, I would want to do a suave role but a realistic one. I would like to do roles to which people can relate and something that will impart a social message. All in all, it should be a complete package. Who is your inspiration? I would not mention any particular name as I feel that there are many who inspire me. Shah Rukh Khan’s intelligence and communication skills, Salman Khan’s attitude, Aamir Khan’s perfection are things to look up to. Apart from them Dilip saab, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna are all superb. And personally I am a big fan of Govinda too. So you see, all of them are my favourites and I try to learn something from each one of them. How are you enjoying your new found stardom? I am yet to become a star, but it is always a special feeling to be recognised by people when you go out. What does Rahul like to do in his free time? I like going out on long drives; it gives me the chance to recollect my thoughts of my life. I also translate my life experience into words which I read later on to ponder over my life. Anyone special in your life? Yes, there is someone, but I would not want to talk about her. All I can say is that she is a very special person who has stood by me during all my hard times. As my family is important to me, she too is very close. Otherwise, I am one who has very few close friends in my life.