India, Oct. 1 -- Every year, thousands of aspiring actors pack their bags and head to Mumbai with dreams of becoming the next big movie star. Few realise that the journey rarely runs in a straight line. Mohammed Iqbal Khan, better known as Iqbal Khan, is a prime example - his career began with a couple of unsuccessful Bollywood films, nearly ended with him considering a return home, and eventually led him to become one of Hindi television's most popular romantic leads.

Born in Kashmir, Iqbal moved to Mumbai in 2001 in his 20s with high hopes. He aspired to become like Shah Rukh Khan and believed he would enter Bollywood and achieve stardom almost instantly. However, fate had a very different plan for him. His initial break came with Hind...