"If your courage is high, the path gets created on its own!" Pankaj Raina

It did take him some time to make his mark, but his passion remained with him. Seeing his personality, everyone he met would ask him, "Do you work in films?" and he would smile and remain silent. This was his initial introduction. "But now people say... I have seen you here! My introduction has started changing." Pankaj Raina laughs.

Pankaj Raina, who thinks of moving ahead by giving his voice (dubbing) to other stars along with doing TV and ad films, is busy these days on the big screen. He believes in working quietly. He is playing an important role in Aamir Khan's production 'Lahore 1947' (Director Raj Kumar Santoshi). He has done 'Torbaaz'. His role as Raman Kotwal in Hansal Mehta's web series 'Lootere' has been in the news. He has done Sudhir Mishra's web series 'Tanaav'. He is the dubbing director of '1857 Diary: The Hidden Pages'. "Yes, I have lent my voice to many stars. Acting and dubbing are my passion," he says.

It is said that Kashmir is heaven on earth, which has blessed the entire world with priceless natural gifts. On this very land of Kashmir, a child was born in the family of a Kashmiri Pandit and was named Pankaj.

The house was filled with the fragrance of literature, music, and goodwill. Every member of the family had some or the other blessing of Goddess Saraswati. When Pankaj turned eight, it was discovered that Goddess Saraswati resided in his throat. There was magic in his voice. As he grew older, it was discovered that the art of acting was also running in his veins. Time passed, the situation in Kashmir changed and many Kashmiris left their homeland...everything was left behind. Now Pankaj had to achieve his dreams so that he could create his own identity. Pankaj came to Mumbai to try his luck in films.

But, cinema does not give anything easily, to achieve cinema one has to lose a lot, and one has to go through a long test.

The same happened with Pankaj. His Kashmiri face attracted people, and he was adept at acting, but all he got was disappointment! "People say that luck is necessary for success in cinema, but this is a blatant lie."

Pankaj was full of enthusiasm, he got some work but he was not getting what he had come for. Pankaj sensed the situation and decided to spread the magic of his voice along with acting. He started doing singing shows in India and abroad, where he got success and a new identity. Then he started getting work in serials like Crime Files and others. People associated with the film industry started recognizing Pankaj. He went on to work in dozens of Doordarshan serials. Then, in 2009 came the era of dubbing films, in those days there were very few good dubbing artists. Pankaj got a chance to dub in a film, the name of the film was, 'Don Number One' - in which Pankaj gave his voice to Nagarjuna and Kelly Dorji. This dubbed film was a big hit due to which Pankaj became a name in the world of dubbing films. His demand increased. Pankaj found another way to become a dubbing artist. Along with this, Pankaj did advertisements for big brands like Kurkure, and Amazon. His busyness increased. He did dozens of serials like 'Adalat', 'Aahat', 'Kagaz Ki Kashti', 'Crime Patrol', 'Crime Alert', 'CID', 'Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap', 'Khushboo', 'Talaq Kyun?' On the big screen, he did films like 'Hum Hai Pyar Mein', 'Veer Zaara', 'Hum Tum Dushman Dushman', '1:13:7' (Ek Tera Saath), 'Torbaaz', 'Dastan-E-Miri Piri', 'India's Most Wanted'. He also became a dubbing director with famous films like SUBWAY, and Auhaam.

Multi-talented Pankaj Raina has a distinct identity in the world of acting, singing, and dubbing. His last film as a dubbing director was 'Kuchh Khatta Ho Jaye' (Guru Randhawa, Sai Manjrekar, Anupam Kher, etc.). Pankaj Raina says - "I am not able to remember things of the past. We will discuss the upcoming films and web projects (series and films) later."

-Sharad Rai

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