Jitendra Kumar aka Jeetu Bhaiya has won millions of hearts with his talented acting skills. Be it Jeetu Bhaiya from Kota Factory or Abhishek from Panchayat or Aman Tripathi from Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan, Jitendra has won our hearts every time he has appeared on the screen. No one can deny that Jitendra Kumar is one of the most versatile internet faces of today. But, his journey has been anything but easy. This super-talented IITian’s story is just a reminder that no dream is too big to achieve.
Jitendra Kumar’s Inspiring Story: From IIT to OTT
Jitendra was in love with acting since his childhood. While growing up in Khairthal, he used to perform in the local Ramlila. But, it was during his time at IIT-Kharagpur that he started taking acting more seriously. In his interview with The Better India, he mentioned: “While I was pursuing my B.Tech in civil engineering, I began actively participating in the college theatre scene. It was the first time I encountered a proper stage, lights, script and everything else.”
Because of his love for acting and lack of interest in a corporate job, Jitendra after graduating in 2012 joined TVF as an actor. But things weren’t working for him. He wasn’t getting many acting gigs. And, then he took one of the most difficult calls of his life. He decided to quit TVF and joined a Japanese multinational construction company in Bengaluru.
But, while his life was moving in the same direction as it does for most IIT graduates, things suddenly changed forever.
TVF belatedly released Munna Jazbati, a comedy sketch where Jitendra plays an over-emotional intern. This video was shot during his three-month stint at TVF. And, within no time, the video went viral. As destiny had different plans for Jitendra, he decided to quit his job and give acting another chance.
But, it’s never easy to convince your parents and family when you leave your well-paying job for your passion.
Recalling his struggle of convincing his parents, Jitendra shared with Filmfare, “My family thought I’d give it a shot for a year and then come back to corporate life. And when I left Mumbai after three months and joined a Japanese company in Bangalore, my parents thought I’d said goodbye to acting. It was when I left that job that they were alarmed. They started calling up relatives to give me a pep talk and drill some sense into me. I had to convince them that my heart was set on acting. I think parents get pressured by society. Otherwise, they have no problem with your choices. So when I was finally able to convince my relatives and family friends about my choices, my parents too came on board.”
After reaching Mumbai, Jitendra was told that he could face a lot of difficulties in getting a break.
It was then he started teaching physics at different coaching institutes to prepare students for their JEE exam. In one of his interviews, he said: “I drew out all my IIT JEE notes and started studying again. Eventually, I started teaching. So I used to teach the students in coaching institutes on Sundays. It was a very different experience for me.”
During his interview with Filmfare, he even shared a really funny incident that happened as he was juggling between acting and teaching.“A lot of funny incidents have happened. But there’s this one instance that remains with me forever. One video of mine where I acted as Munna Jazbati became popular. There’s a scene in that video where I’m seen sweeping the floor. A girl came to me and said, “Are you Munna Jazbati? Have you acted in that video?” I said yes and suddenly the girl had tears in her eyes. She told me, “Sir, please don’t do this. It feels very bad to see you like this.”
Jitendra took these classes for almost two years until 2015. With the boom in online content, particularly on YouTube, Jitendra started getting acting gigs. However, his first big break came as a result of his work in a TVF show called Pitchers, which grew very popular for capturing the Indian startup scenario.
After which, there was no looking back for Jitendra. He kept winning our hearts with his exemplary work – TVF Pitchers, Cheesecake, Kota Factory, Panchayat, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, and many more!
And, as the whole country celebrates Jitendra Kumar for his acting skills, we just couldn’t stop admiring his courage. How he left his well-paying job to pursue his dreams in the highly competitive film industry is quite inspiring. We wish him loads of luck and hope his inspiring story will encourage many more to pursue their goals – no matter how big or small.
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