Sadhguru's advice led this famous actor to leave Mumbai and move to a village. He quit acting to take up farming and ended up in Rs 2 crore debt

Actor Rajesh Kumar, best known for playing Rosesh Sarabhai in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, took an unexpected turn in his life when he walked away from acting in 2017. Instead of continuing his television career in Mumbai, he returned to his hometown Gaya in Bihar and decided to explore farming. What followed was a difficult five-year journey filled with floods, the pandemic, failed plantation efforts and a serious financial crisis. At one point, Rajesh found himself carrying a debt of Rs 2 crore.

Why Rajesh Kumar left acting and chose farming

Rajesh's decision to enter agriculture was closely connected to his interactions with spiritual leader Sadhguru. During his association with the Isha Foundation, the actor was involved in events linked to Sadhguru's Rally for Rivers campaign. Although Rajesh was not immediately convinced by Sadhguru's ideas, his perspective gradually changed.

One message from Sadhguru particularly stayed with him. Rajesh recalled, "There was one thing which Sadhguru was constantly saying during the rally, 'Give me 100 youth from your state and I will change the face of agriculture. But for three years, do not ask me, what about me?' So when I reached my village, I suddenly happened to complete that line for myself, that the day you stop thinking about yourself, is the day you start thinking about others and the day you start thinking about others, others start thinking about you."


Speaking about his decision, Rajesh explained that he realised he needed to stop looking at farming from the outside and actually understand the challenges faced by farmers. Instead of telling farmers what they should or should not do, he wanted to experience their reality himself.

That led him to leave his acting career and return to his village. He began experimenting with horticulture and plantation, hoping that his efforts could help him understand agriculture better.

However, the reality was very different from what he had imagined.

Floods, Covid and a failed borewell added to his struggles

Rajesh's farming journey quickly became a series of unexpected setbacks. One of his earliest plantation projects was wiped out when the area experienced a major flood. According to the actor, the flood came after nearly 35 years and destroyed everything he had planted.

Instead of giving up, Rajesh tried again. He went on to plant around 15,000 trees, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted those plans as well. Even after that, he made another attempt to build a sustainable farming project.

His final effort brought another major setback. Rajesh invested money in drilling a borewell in search of water. However, even after drilling around 500 feet, he could not find a single drop of water.

The repeated failures came at a time when Rajesh was no longer earning a regular income from acting. He had already spent his savings while continuing to invest in his agricultural plans. Over nearly five years, his financial situation deteriorated significantly.

Rajesh eventually accumulated a debt of around Rs 2 crore.

In an earlier interview, the actor had described the period as one where money was constantly going out while there was no income coming in. He admitted that bankruptcy was a feeling he experienced during that phase, as he struggled even to arrange money for basic survival.

His financial difficulties became so severe that he once sold vegetables outside his son's school. The incident reflected just how dramatically his circumstances had changed from his days as a successful television actor.

Rajesh refuses to call the farming journey a failure

Despite the financial losses, Rajesh has repeatedly maintained that he does not consider his farming experience a failure. For him, the years spent working with agriculture brought lessons that he would not have learned otherwise.

He also credited spirituality with helping him deal with the difficult period. Rajesh said, "Due to spirituality, I never went into any anxiety, depression, frustration, anger, nothing bothered me. Nothing was happening and I was seeing it not happening. But my effort and process didn't stop. That is what spirituality is."

Rajesh's financial situation has also improved in recent years. The actor revealed in April that he had managed to come out of the worst phase of his financial troubles, with only around 10-15% of his earlier debt remaining.

He has also gradually returned to acting after his long break. Rajesh, who became widely popular as Rosesh Sarabhai in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, has since appeared in several films and projects, including Saiyaara, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, Ohh My Dog and Nishaanchi.