At 41, actor and reality television star Ashutosh Kaushik says things are finally looking up for him. He tied the knot during the early days of the lockdown last year, and is gradually making a comeback as an actor with “short films” that he shares on his YouTube page. Kaushik sends us one such video titled, First Date in Arranged Marriage, over WhatsApp, where he plays a prospective groom. This one has a happy ending. But, in real life, that’s never been the case for him. 

“I lost out on a lot of arranged marriage proposals because of what’s out there about me. The girl’s side would see it and say, ‘Isne toh bahut jalwe bikher ke rakhe hain’. I had to find a bride on my own. It was emotionally frustrating. Everyone would keep turning me down, because of a law I had broken a long time back.”