Mumbai, Feb 28 (IANS): Actor Aayush Shrivastav, who is best known for TV shows like 'Yeh hai Mohabbatein', 'Peshwa Bajirao', 'Jodha Akbar', and many more, spills the beans on why he took a break of five years from the industry, challenges of getting back and his comeback project.

Aayush said: "I took break to help my dad with his business as he had expanded his verticals into multiple domains. Also, he was aging and was unable to handle everything on his own. There was a dire need for someone who could take control of the business and I was the one who already had prior experience handling the admin. So family responsibility made me go back to my hometown leaving behind acting."

Sharing about the challenges of making a comeback after five years, Aayush said: "It was indeed very challenging as I had taken a break for almost five years. Unfortunately, when I wanted to make a comeback, the pandemic hit the entire nation very badly and it became more vulnerable for me to sustain. A lot of people were making content during that time as well, but they were only approaching people who were active in the industry. By then I had already taken a back seat and lost touch with whatever contacts I had."

"I had taken a break in 2017. At that time, OTT wasn't a hot cake and very few people were actually consuming content on the given platforms. TV and big screens were the only prominent medium for an actor to try one's hand. But when I resumed work, I saw a complete shift from the big screen and television to OTT," he added.

"The market has changed drastically, it has become more content driven. People want to watch good and intriguing content over a big star cast and we are now flooded with bountiful content options. There are thousands of makers and creators, so it has become really challenging as an actor to make a significant presence without a substantial amount of hard work and a really strong network."

Sharing about the kind of roles he aspires to play, Aayush said: "I believe as actors, the best thing we could do is to get into the skin of the given character and roles by the makers. No role is small or big. It is more how well you pull off the given role. Though OTT has set a benchmark in terms of out-of-the-box content, I still believe the big screen is always a dream for any actor."

"In a nutshell, I'm open to all the formats, any kind of content which I believe would add to my profile and would help me hone my skills, provided it's a meaty chunk and also has some noteworthiness," he added.