Bollywood remembers Vishal Malhotra as the charming best friend in early 2000s hits, but what the industry didn’t see coming was his transformation into a self-made entrepreneur who claims he had to rebuild his life after being pushed out of films. His journey, which took him from Disney India to selling tissue rolls and finally funding a feature film through NFTs, is the kind of comeback story that rarely gets told in Mumbai’s film circles.
During a talk at TEDx, Malhotra opened up about the moment everything started. He said it all began when he was a student and “Around 30 years ago, I was bunking a class when a very beautiful girl started walking towards me… She came right up to me and said, ‘We are looking for the face of our channel; would
you be interested?’” One audition later, he became the face of Disney in India for a decade.
He worked in films like Ishq Vishk, Jannat and Kismat Konnection but soon felt trapped in the same type of roles. He said filmmakers did not want to look beyond casting him as the hero’s friend, and when Malhotra pushed back, it cost him. Speaking to Hindi Rush earlier, he said, “When I asked for a different role, that big producer took it on his ego… I had no work for two years. I was very scared after that.”
He credits early money lessons from home for helping him survive. “My parents made me start investing money from the time my career started… She said whatever you are giving me today, you will be able to buy a house in five years with this money.”
After leaving acting behind, he started an advertising agency and began working with major retail companies. He said, “I used to sell them all kinds of paper products, from tissue papers to toilet rolls.” Later, NFTs caught his attention and changed everything. “I became the first Indian actor to create and sell an NFT.”
When rumours around India banning crypto surfaced, Malhotra sold his NFTs. “What I got back was a good amount of pocket change… So then I wrote, produced and directed my first feature film, Ilm, which became the world’s first film completely funded by an NFT.”
