Mumbai: Sasural Simar Ka fame actor Manish Raisinghani believes in constantly evolving as an artist, even if it means stepping out of his comfort zone. While he admits he doesn’t always chase roles that deliberately break his image, he describes familiarity as a “comfortable cage.”
He shares, “It brings applause, but slowly takes away your curiosity—and for me, curiosity is far more addictive than comfort. I’m drawn to roles that shake that comfort a little. Not to shock or prove anything, but simply to stay alive as an actor.”
For Manish, risk is nothing but growth in disguise. “We often fear it, but it’s just growth introducing itself. Audiences may initially fall in love with your image, but they stay for your evolution. So if a role challenges or even unsettles me, I see it as a positive sign. The moment I become too sure of myself, I risk becoming uninteresting to watch,” he says.
Calling reinvention essential, he adds, “Stardom is rented; evolution is owned. My approach is to remain a student—observe people, learn from life, and keep unlearning old habits. Today’s audience is evolving with every reel they scroll through, and I need to grow with them.”
He also acknowledges that sometimes turning down roles is necessary. “Saying no can be the most creative choice. If a project relies too much on my past instead of helping shape my future, I step away. While I may revisit elements that once worked for me, I try to present them in a fresh way. Nostalgia is a beautiful place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.”
Talking about balancing audience expectations with his own creative instincts, Manish says, “I try to give audiences what they feel rather than what they expect. I value their love, but I don’t want to be confined by it. My aim is that they come for the familiarity but stay for the surprise.”
