Soon after Ashish Sharma gave fans a glimpse of his farming endeavors, many jumped to the conclusion that he has quit acting for good. Amazed at such speculations, the actor wonders why farming is considered to be a last resort to survive or a retirement plan, and feels that the notions attached to farming in the country needs to change.“After the pandemic struck (last year), I’ve been doing organic farming at our farm near Jaipur with my father. So, maybe that’s why people thought that I’ve quit acting,” Sharma, 36, says, adding, “It’s the sad state of affairs that farming is considered as a gareeb profession. It’s assumed that I’ve to leave everything to go do farming, because that’s the last resort in everybody’s life. That’s the retirement plan, basically.”

It is such misconceptions that the SiyaKe Ram actor aims to dispel.

“That’s the message I want to send across to the young generation because nobody wants to be a farmer anymore. We’re an agricultural country and we need food on our table. If there are no farmers, khanakahan se aayega? So, we’re trying to create an ecosystem where farmers get their money and the customer gets good food and knows the source of it,” he elaborates.

And it’s certainly not his retirement plan, as he clarifies, “You don’t need to retire to do this, just like many other things for which we have to retire and do in our lives.

Known for shows such as PrithviVallabh: ItihaasBhi, RahasyaBhi, SiyaKe Ram, Rangrasiya and Chandragupta Maurya, Sharma asserts that acting continues to be his first love.

“I’m working with my wife Archana on producing content as well. I’ve done two series, and two films are in post production. They’ll be released in the next three or four months,” he reveals, adding that people who’re saying that he has quit acting, will be the only ones coming and saying “waahwaah” after watching his upcoming projects.