Mohit Raina, who is currently seen in series The Freelancer, says since the birth of his daughter life has changed for the better

Sheetal

Actor Mohit Raina, who is currently seen in Neeraj Pandey’s web series, The Freelancer, happened to be in the City Beautiful for a leadership summit in ISB, Mohali, recently. While the Jammu born actor’s memories of the city are blurred, he clearly recalled Sector 17, which used to be the most happening place during his college years. “Also it was a pit-stop while heading to Delhi,” he said.

The Freelancer is a Disney+Hotstar original and while four episodes were dropped on September 1, the remainder will be out soon. Mohit, who loved being part of this high-octane extraction drama, shared “When I did television, of course, I worked on things that I was offered and had not much of a choice. But with the OTT boom, I took break from television. I consider myself lucky that a new set of opportunities opened up. While we get to make choices for sure, there are some directors and production houses that you don’t have to think twice to work with. I loved working with Neeraj and being part of such an actioner. But at the same time, each project comes with its own challenges and my character of Avinash Kamath involved a lot of mental preparation, which was fun too.”

Family man

On the personal front, Mohit recently became a father to a baby girl, his first-born with wife Aditi, whom he married in 2021. He even went on a three month paternity leave. The doting father is embracing fatherhood and theresponsibility with excitement. “I am now trained in everything, right from diaper-changing to waking up according to the baby’s sleep schedule. Life has changed for the better, first with marriage and now with the arrival of our baby girl.”

Recalling his acting journey, he doesn’t see it as full of struggles, challenges or obstacles, “I started with modelling and with time knew that I liked to emote on camera. So, acting was a natural progression. Yes, the film industry had been a bit indifferent towards the television actors, but things have changed.”

Mohit Raina, like many from his era, did face opposition from his family when he first expressed his desire to be in the entertainment industry, but his mother was the biggest support system.

Up next

On the work front, the actor will be seen in the second season of Mumbai Diaries. The first part, Mumbai Diraies 26/11, saw him playing a doctor who was caught in a hostage situation at a hospital during Mumbai 26/11 attacks. “This time it would be around another crisis situation, but I will reprise my character of Dr Kaushik Oberoi,” he said.