Every actor wishes to be the driving force in a story, the hero around whom the universe is set. After the 2008 outing, Grihasti, Siddhaanth Vir Surryavanshi, then only 33, says offers for lead roles dried up. Following a lean period of five years, the actor turned to producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary for a role, who offered him the part of the protagonist’s father Adhiratha Sushen in Suryaputra Karn. While he made peace with the transition and took up senior roles, the actor was only glad to have received “strong characters”. “[I am] grateful that all my roles had a strong presence in the story,” says Surryavanshi, who followed it up with Waaris and Sufiyana Pyaar Mera.

Having learnt the ageist ways of the industry first-hand, the actor, 46, was in for a surprise when Kyun Rishton Mein Katti Batti came his way. “I was never supposed to play Kuldeep [his character]. I was trying for another role in the same show when the makers asked me to audition for it. I auditioned with no hope of getting the part,” says the actor of the show that depicts two children trying to rekindle the love between their parents.