Darsheel Safary on Bollywood’s Lack of Support After Taare Zameen Par: “It Hurts Emotionally to Think About It”

Darsheel Safary, who touched hearts with his debut performance in Aamir Khan’s 2007 hit Taare Zameen Par, has recently opened up about his journey in Bollywood — and how it hasn’t quite turned out the way he had hoped.

Despite the widespread acclaim he received as a child actor, the years that followed were unexpectedly quiet. In an interview with News18, Darsheel shared that he often felt sidelined by the industry. “You have to learn when to block out the noise,” he said. “People will always talk, and you can’t shut everyone up. I can’t even begin to explain the kind of stories that have been planted about me.”

When asked if he felt let down by the film industry, Darsheel responded with honesty: “I would never even think that Bollywood should’ve backed me more. Who am I to them? I’m not anyone’s blood relative. What I do have is my talent and strength, and I’ve worked hard for that. But yes, thinking about these things does hurt emotionally. It can throw you off track.”

After Taare Zameen Par, Darsheel appeared in films like Zokkomon and Bumm Bumm Bole, but none matched the impact of his debut. Most recently, he was seen in Phule, alongside Pratik Gandhi and Patralekha.

Up next, Darsheel stars in the web series Gamerlog, which features an ensemble cast including Anjali Sivaraman, Chetan Carpentar Dhawan, Akash Menon, Shubroy Chowdhary, Chinmay Chandraunshu, and Kunal Bhan.

Produced by Abhinay Deo and Neeta Shah, Gamerlog tells the story of Raghu, a small-town boy from Surat who dreams big. When he gets the chance to join a professional eSports team in Mumbai and compete in the high-stakes Tournament of Champions, he runs away from home to chase that dream. The series is available for streaming on Amazon MX Player.