Since his most recent reel, Dr. Mickey Dhamejani, who portrayed a youthful Hrithik Roshan in Koi Mil Gaya, has gained a lot of attention. He talks to The Pioneer exclusively about his acting career, his pursuit of becoming an ophthalmologist and his denial of seeking acting opportunities
Tejal Sinha
Back in the 2000s, there was this li’l guy who enraptured the hearts of the audience pretty well. His stint as a child actor in Koi Mil Gaya, playing the role of young Hrithik Roshan brought him into the eyes of one and all. Dr. Mickey D. Dhamejani is currently all over social media for all the right reasons!
The child actor is now an ophthalmologist.
His young beginnings in notable Bollywood films includes Koi Mil Gaya, Krrish, Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Ishq Vishq, Aitbaar featuring Mr Bachchan, Dosti featuring Akshay Kumar and even ventured into Hollywood with a role in Eat Pray Love alongside Julia Roberts. He also showcased his versatlity playing memorable roles in TV serials like Gharwali Uparwali aur Sunny and a double role in Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.
“I was 5 and back then, the decision was taken by my parents,” begins Dr. Mickey in a quick interaction with The Pioneer. “I was this cute little child who had this possibility of acting. I used to dance in front of the screens, as described by my father. I used to remove my t-shirt and dance to Oh Oh Jaane Jaana and other Anil Kapoor and Salman Khan’s songs. I used to always enjoy and be like aise duniya mai rahunga mai and that’s how it maybe started.”
Things since then went on pretty organic for him. All the recognition and things coming his way, he goes on to credit his parents for the same for balancing all very well. However, his mumma made sure his studies weren’t effected in any way. Always a top ranker in school and also coming from a family of doctor’s education was an important aspect. Even on the sets, he recalls, how his mother used to teach him for the exams.
“That was a lovely time,” speaks the Koi Mil Gaya star, as he speak of his experience working on the sets of the film. “It was a different role for Hrithik as well. He had to play a certain disabled child and there was a way that he had to speak in, the way he walked and even how his fingers were kept. Before the shoot happened, I used to go to his house in Juhu. He and Rakesh Roshan uncle used to teach me everything. Though it was not a very big part, the interaction became like that with them. I learned from Hrithik Roshan and then I performed. Even on the sets, he used to teach me all the shots. It was amazing and they were very humble people.”
Even with Krrish, he recalls travelling with them in the same car and flight to Manali. And having to work and share a close association with the ‘Roshan’s’, he shares, “I really look up to them as diligent people. The kind of work that they have done in the industry in their genre is extremely commendable. I really look up to them. They brought in the superhero concept in India. Back then Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish were genre-defining projects!”
As our exclusive conversation continued, he was only able to recollect his good memories from the projects he had worked on. He has learned a great deal about life from this educational experience.
Mickey’s passion for education and his
parents’ aspirations led him to pursue a career in medicine. “I’m a very scientific and logical person. I do my reasoning with a lot of data
and that’s always the way how I function.
That time the decision was made and I wanted to complete my education. And thus, I completed my graduation.” Today, a distinguished ophthalmologist, specialising in Refractive cataract and Lasik surgeries, he holds many degrees such as MBBS, MS (Ophthalmology), FICO (London) and MRCS (Edinburgh).
Getting into ophthalmology was a personal encounter for him. As a child, he had a high-powered glasses. Even during the shooting he recalls how it used to get difficult after removing his spects. “My mother was never counselled well by the doctors. Back then, you didn’t have Google to search. There was always a lot of stress at home and people used to always misguide her. All of those myths remained unsolved. I’ve always wanted to learn more about it. My mother had a cataract during my MBBS, which exposes you to all the disciplines, at a very young age. At that point, I realised how vital eyes are and that I needed to pursue an ophthalmology master’s degree.”
In fact, he also goes on to reveal, “I have my own Lasik done. I have 6/6 vision. Lasik as a concept is very beautiful and again, not very well understood and counselled to the world. People are always afraid of getting an eye surgery done. That is what now I channelise into. If people want to get brid of their glasses, these solutions are amazing.”
In a nutshell, he has given so many years into this practice. He aims to become a much-established doctor and have hospitals across the country. Acting does remain his core passion. However, “If a big opportunity comes my way and something that inclines with my values, it’s definitely going to be a win-win solution.” Dressing up, working environment and creating bonds on the sets is something that he really misses about acting at times.
Talking of his most viral reel, he shares that there was no intention to get viral. It was something, he shares that naturally happened. “I have always been sharing reels around eye care. This was just a thought of putting this in reel and see how it does. My patients did come and tell me ‘sir aapko kahin dekha hai’. And this one Sunday, I told my editor let’s just put this and see. The plan was to make a doctor’s reel only. And to my surprise, it was all over the media.”
In the very same reel, there was a comment saying ‘Jaadu came and removed his father’s specs in Koi Mil Gaya and Jr. Hrithik became an eye doctor.’ And an overwhelmed Dr. Mickey laughs his heart out and shares, “I did try to reply to most of them but then it became beyond my reach. It kind of became true also for them. I did have very thick glasses and that scene became true to me after my Lasik, ‘mujhe sab dikhra hai’ (we laugh). The surgery has now become a matter of magic which happens in minutes these days. It was very real and thus it worked out well.”
Presently, he is in the process of understanding what could lead to his goal of eventually becoming this healthcare provider, who is also serving not just one or two hospitals in the city, but is a national-level health provider. He aims to provide quality healthcare to everybody. “Be it Lasik or any eye surgery, the machines are pretty expensive and thus, the treatments get expensive. Not everybody gets access to the latest technologies. What I have figured is if I can manage this sort at a pan-India level, I can give the best of technology at affordable prices.”
Meanwhile, as we head towards the end of the chat, he also denies looking for offers in acting at the moment.
