Don’t think it’ll ever sink in, says Rohit Khandelwal

Until just a few years ago, Rohit Khandelwal was one of the millions of Indian youth slogging long hours behind an obscure desk in the corporate sector. Today, he is one in a billion among men across the world and the first from Asia to be dubbed the ‘Most Desirable Man’ in the world.

A few years ago, this was unthinkable to him. And not much has changed, he says, “I don’t think this will ever sink in!” He has just returned home, triumphant after 12 gruelling rounds of various tests against 46 contestants from across the world. For the Hyderabad boy, the journey started three years ago, when much like countless millenials, he too came to Mumbai with Bollywood dreams. “I had been working in the corporate sector and after changing three jobs I realised that it wasn’t the place for me. That’s when I decided to come to Mumbai. I had always wanted to act and I decided to take the plunge. ”

As simplistic as his vision was, it wasn’t easy, Rohit soon realised. “I found myself sharing a single room with five other people in Malad and all of them wanted to make it in the industry. I didn’t have much money, but I kept trying for auditions. Coming to Mumbai from Hyderabad was a culture shock for me. But the bigger problem was the language. You see, I know Hindi, but my Hindi is Hyderabadi. I used to be made fun of a lot. And usually, it is harder to shake off an accent than learn a new language from scratch. I eventually had to undergo classes for Hindi diction and training before I could perform well at auditions,” says Rohit.

While there are many who crumble under the pressure and give up long before they are able to score their first break, Rohit clinged on to his dream. “I’ve always believed that my greatest trait is my determination. Right from childhood, I’ve always been very stubborn about what I want. If I decide on something, I strive to do it to perfection. I remember that whenever I used to go shopping, I would first try on a hundred different shirts before zeroing in on that one shirt I wanted to buy. It took me time but I changed myself and evolved to match the city, its culture and its pace. It was after that, that things started coming my way. My very first ad was with Kareena Kapoor and that taught me that in this city anything is possible,” he says.

So, how did someone who came to Mumbai to act, end up becoming Mister World Rohit explains, “It was completely by chance. I had been modelling and one day I saw this ad in a leading daily, which I had just subscribed to three days before. It had the previous Mr India, Prateik Jain saying ‘Do you want to be Mr India ’ and at that moment I remember thinking that this wasn’t for me. I didn’t think that I was good-looking enough for it. Then I read the description, which read: ‘the person should have a unique charm and should be good-natured’. That’s when I felt that I could do it. So that’s how my journey to Mr World started.”

While winning Mr India was a big enough leap for Rohit, he still he felt like Mr World was a distant dream. And it took him some time to come to terms with what he had set out to achieve. Ask him what, he feels, must have led to his victory and Rohit says it was his people skills. “Unlike during Mr India, for the Mr World pageant, I prepared rigourously. By the time I reached the UK, I had memorised all the names of the contestants and their specialities and strengths. And I was able to use my strengths accordingly and that ensured my victory,” says Rohit. Also, superstar Shah Rukh Khan could well have played a part in that too. Rohit explains, “Yes, for the finale round we had to impress the Miss World 2013, Megan Young. I knew that acting was my strength and so I borrowed from SRK’s charm and narrated one of his dialogues — itni shiddat se .’ It really impressed Megan and helped me win.”

This victory may have cemented his position in the world of modelling, but he is still very much holding on to his acting dream. “The one thing I was really afraid of when going on this journey was the fact I would have to stay away from my acting for three months during the competition. It has been a dream of mine to act in the same frame as SRK and I think now I have gotten closer to that dream,” he says.

What is the biggest change the victory has brought about in him, we ask. “Now I feel anything is possible. So if something good from Hollywood comes my way, I wouldn’t hesitate in taking it up as well.” While Hollywood may still be far, closer home film offers have started pouring in already. But he’s keeping them on hold for now. “I have been getting quite a few offers from Bollywood, but as of now, I am going to be doing the scheduled charity work with the Mr World foundation. Children and children’s education is something I am deeply passionate about and I want to concentrate on that as well. But after that I would definitely want to try my luck in Bollywood and consider the offers. I don’t want to limit myself in any way though. I also want to do TV anchoring at some point in my life, so if I get any good offers on that count, I will take that up as well,” concludes Rohit.