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All film industries across the world are filled with jaw-dropping or inspiring stories of how people struggled and persevered to get to the top. The Indian film industry too has many such tales of men and women who left their home and dealt with the harsh outside world just to be able to follow their passion for the movies. Actor Harshvardhan Rane has a similar story, one where he experienced a lot of hurdles and potholes, but never one that could make him cave.
Born in Rajamahendravam, Andhra Pradesh, to a Telugu mother and a Marathi father, Rane was raised in Gwalior. His father, Vivek Rana, was a doctor there, but Rane had no plans on following in his father’s footsteps. At just the age of 16, Rane left his home with just Rs 200 in his pocket. He knew that he wanted to become an actor; he just didn’t know how to get there. He first landed in New Delhi, where he took up some odd jobs like waiting tables, and he would just get paid Rs 10 to Rs 20 for that.
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He talked about his struggle in detail during an interview with Hollywood Reporter. The actor recalled not having access to clean water and a bathroom. He said, “I started working as a waiter in a hostel mess. I also got a job to maintain a register at an STD booth for Rs 10 per day. Then the same work at a cafe for Rs 20 per day. The first struggle was to find a meal and a steady Rs 10 income, then the struggle was to find a washroom. The soap would have someone else’s hair stuck on it. Then the struggle was to find a deodorant because I would sleep with four or five hardworking men who worked in the kitchen, and there was an odour issue. I remember when I first started earning, I got a perfume and had a shake at McDonald’s.”
But this was just a step on the ladder, and soon Rane climbed the rung above it and moved to Mumbai. Here in the city that never sleeps, Rane got his first acting gig in a show called Left Right Left. He was finally getting paid to act nearly 8 years after leaving his home and family behind. After a little bit of a break in employment, Rane bagged his first theatrical release with the film Thakita Thakita.
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His very next film was with Rana Daggubati and Genelia Deshmukh, titled Naa Ishtam, and this is when more people started noticing him. Work started coming in regularly, and Rane was doing at least 2 films a year. In 2016, Rane decided to take the leap and make his Bollywood debut with the film Sanam Teri Kasam. This was a turning point in Rane’s career because even though the film didn’t break the box office, it received a lot of love from the audience that actually watched it. So much so that almost a decade later, Sanam Teri Kasam was re-released, and it earned Rs 53 crore worldwide.
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On his path to success, though, Rane has never forgotten to display his philanthropic side. During COVID, the actor took to social media and put his own bike up for sale so that he could use the money to buy oxygen concentrators for those in need. He posted several pictures of the bike and wrote in the caption that, “Giving my motorcycle away in exchange for a few oxygen concentrators which we together can provide to people in need combatting covid. Please help me find good oxygen concentrators in Hyderabad.”
The actor runs a charitable organisation which participates in the ShirtOff challenge. Basically he sells the t-shirt he wears in the film, and the proceeds are used to help those in need. Since 2015, Rane has been organising the ShirtOff garage sale to fund the education of a girl called Swati.
Rane talked to Deccan Herald about the initiative and said, “It’s called so because I was giving my shirts away and turning them into notebooks, in a way. I was thinking of a way to secure a girl child’s education. People used to call me for donations, and I couldn’t relate to that because I have spent most of my life trying to support myself. Earlier I thought that I’d make furniture and give it to orphanages, but that wasn’t a practical thought. Then I thought I would give away clothes, but that wouldn’t help much either. That’s when I thought of a garage sale, the proceeds of which go towards Swati’s education.”
Currently Rane is enjoying the success of his latest film, Ek Deewani Ki Deewaniyat. Released on October 21, the film has already made Rs 59 crore at the box office. Directed by Milap Zaveri, the cast of the film also includes Sonam Bajwa, Shaad Randhawa, and Sachin Khedekar.
