"Shifting From a Big Family to Living Alone in Bombay Was Really Tough for Me: Worship Khanna

Actor Worship Khanna, who has been a part of shows like Kumkum Bhagya, Meri Doli Mere Angana, and Ishq Subhan Allah; web series like Hello Jee and Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala; and is currently seen in Pati Brahmachari, was brought up in a joint family of 30 members in the city of Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. He revealed that living alone in Mumbai was initially difficult for him; however, he has now gotten used to it.

He said, “Most of my schooling was done in Moradabad, and then for a couple of years I was in Nainital too. I was brought up in a joint family. So suddenly shifting from a big family to living alone in Bombay was really tough for me. To survive alone in a new city was a bit difficult during the initial days. Now, I’ve gotten used to it.”

His family always wanted him to become an actor, and he was, in fact, a very active child since childhood, participating in co-curricular activities like dancing, performing, acting, and drama. “During school time, I used to always bring prizes, and my grandfather used to say, ‘Send him to Doordarshan one day.’ Although my entire family comes from a business background, we’ve had a gold jewelry business for years, but still they used to say this. And when I was 13, my dad actually sent me to work with Paintal ji on a show for DD Metro (Doordarshan channel). The shooting went on for about one and a half months, and I acted in it.” “Paintal ji played my grandfather in that show. So, I can say my career started from there itself. I got the acting bug very early, as they say. I even did some ads as a child artist for small brands like Mother Dairy, etc., all based in Delhi,” he added.

However, his first break as an adult was with the popular crime drama C.I.D. He said, “When I came to Bombay, I was a very raw boy from a small town. No one from my family had ever been to Bombay before. For us, Bombay was a big thing. Honestly, I spent my entire first year just trying to figure out where to give auditions, whom to approach, how to ask for work, and what the process is. It took a lot of time to understand everything.” “Neither my lifestyle matched Bombay nor my way of speaking or behavior. I was not at all like a ‘Bombay’ guy. So it was tough in the beginning, but now things are better,” he added.

Worship has also been a part of projects like Khan Number One on Netflix, the web series Tera Ishq Mera Fitoor, and TV shows like Yeh Jaadu Hai Jinn Ka and Dhruv Tara – Samay Sadi Se Pare. He further shared that though he did his graduation and master’s degree in mass communication, he never did a course in acting. In that, he studies a bit of everything—editing, acting, anchoring, hosting, advertising, and content writing—as it was all a part of his syllabus.

He said, “So I came into this industry with a deeper understanding of how it works. I know a little bit about everything. But still, if you talk specifically about acting school, then yes, I did study at a small college called DFI (Delhi Film Institute) in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi. You can say I learned acting from there.” But he stressed that acting cannot be taught. “It’s all about emotions. Acting schools can help you become confident and can remove your shyness, but they can’t put emotions inside you. That has to come from within. So, no one can really teach you acting,” Worship ended.