Parzaan Dastur was six years old when he played the young Sikh boy in Karan Johar’s 1998 romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, delivering a line that has outlasted most of the film’s plot points: “Tussi Jaa Rahe Ho? Tussi Na Jao.” Nearly three decades later, audiences still bring up that moment. But Dastur’s working life has moved firmly behind the camera.
From child actor to assistant director
Dastur’s childhood credits after Kuch Kuch Hota Hai included Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Zubeidaa, Hum Tum, Haathi Ka Anda and Break Ke Baad. He also voiced an animated character in Hum Tum and appeared in advertisements. More serious roles followed in Rahul Dholakia’s Parzania (2007), where he played a boy who disappears during the 2002 Gujarat riots, and Piyush Jha’s Sikandar (2009), as a young football enthusiast whose life changes after he discovers a gun.
After studying business management, Dastur returned to the industry in a different capacity. He became an assistant director on productions including Karan Johar’s Student of the Year (2012), the series Kareena Kareena, Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (2013) and Fitoor (2016). His last on-screen appearance, Pocket Mummy (2017), also gave him a writing credit.
Building a career on craft
As reported by News18 and cited by The Times of India, Dastur later joined a digital marketing firm, where his interest in writing grew. That led him to establish his own production house. For nearly a decade, he has worked across advertisements, music videos, branded content and fiction. He also hosts TCP Originals, a filmmaking podcast about screenwriting with writers and filmmakers.
That mix is the real story. Dastur’s arc shows how a childhood role can bring recognition, while longevity comes from learning adjacent crafts. It also reflects a Hindi film industry where writers, directors and producers increasingly move between films, advertising and digital formats.
An honest question about stardom
Dastur has been candid about what did not happen. In a 2021 conversation with Brut India, he said he still asks “why I didn’t find success in mainstream cinema,” wondering whether his height, voice or ability played a part. He added: “Maybe if I had somebody to tell me what it exactly was then, I would have known better.”
That uncertainty does not diminish the body of work. For readers who remember the boy pleading with Kajol, it makes the career behind the credits more instructive.
What to revisit
- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for the six-year-old’s scene that still travels as a memory and a meme.
- Parzania and Sikandar for the more serious screen roles he took on later.
- TCP Originals for his current conversations with writers and filmmakers about craft.
Dastur is no longer waiting for permission to stay in the industry. He has built his own room.
Source: The Times of India
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