An actor’s glamorous life is often talked about, but their struggle to achieve that life is frequently overlooked. In a recent interview with Screen, an actor who has worked in several television shows and films in Bengali, Hindi, and Telugu recalled a time when he did not even have money for food. However, one show changed his life and made him TV’s superstar in Bengal, yes, he is Jisshu Sengupta.

Jisshu Sengupta recalls having no money for food

Born to a theatre actor, Ujjwal Sengupta, in Kolkata, Jisshu recalled facing difficult times with his family during his childhood and said, “There were times we didn’t have money for food, there was no electricity at home for six months because my father couldn’t pay the bill. My mother actually taught us what a candlelight dinner is all about. But we were very happy, it was a nice life, we didn’t have money, but life was beautiful.” He also recalled seeing his mother cry because they did not have food in the house.

Jisshu revealed that he had never aspired to become an actor and used to be a drummer and play cricket. He recalled playing drums in the evenings to earn some pocket money. However, things changed when he got his first ever television show, Mahaprabhu, at the age of 18 in 1998. He admitted that although his audition went terribly, he was selected for the role, and his life changed drastically after that.

Jisshu disclosed that he used to earn ₹250 per day for his role in the daily soap, and slowly things began to change for him as the show became a huge success and he became TV’s superstar in Bengal. He revealed that he played the hero in four shows simultaneously and worked for up to 72 hours straight.

However, in 2001, Jisshu faced another hurdle when he decided to quit television and join films. He said, “I was labelled an unlucky actor; no one gave me work. I still remember the biggest producers would look at me and say I was an over-exposed face. I was offered Sathi, but then the producer said this boy won’t work, he is over-exposed on TV. That pushed me to do films. After I said no to TV shows, I was sitting at home for six months; I had no work. I started as the fourth lead because the money was going down. Any hero role I got was in C-grade films that released on Friday and were out by Saturday. For almost 8–10 years, I was labelled unlucky, and my biggest hit had me in a guest appearance.”

Jisshu Sengupta talks about his luxurious life

A turning point in his career came when he collaborated with Rituparno Ghosh for the latter’s Abohomaan, which earned him critical acclaim. He is now a celebrated name in Bengali cinema and has worked in hits and blockbusters such as Barfi, Piku, Mardaani 2, Manikarnika, and others. The actor revealed that he now owns three bungalows in Kolkata, luxury cars such as Mercedes and Range Rovers in his garage, and that he only travels in business class.

Jisshu Sengupta’s ecent and upcoming work

Jisshu was most recently seen in the web series The Trial Season 2. The legal drama, which also stars Kajol, Kubbra Sait, Sheeba Chaddha, Alyy Khan, and Gaurav Pandey in key roles, is available to watch on JioCinema. He will next be seen in the Kannada film KD – The Devil, which also stars Dhruva Sarja in the titular role, alongside Sanjay Dutt, Shilpa Shetty, V. Ravichandran, Ramesh Aravind, Reeshma Nanaiah, and Nora Fatehi. The film’s release date is yet to be announced. He also has Priyadarshan’s Bhooth Bangla in the pipeline, which also stars Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Wamiqa Gabbi. The film is scheduled to release in theatres in 2026.