Nitin Ganatra reflects on Childhood Dream & New Art Career

Nitin Ganatra delved more into his painting ambitions and how that has developed into a new career for him.

Nitin Ganatra reflects on Childhood Dream & New Career - F

"For me, it’s a dream come true."

Nitin Ganatra is one of the most well-known faces on British television.

He is memorable for his role as Masood Ahmed on BBC’s EastEnders, which he played from 2007 to 2019.

However, Nitin has another passion apart from acting. 

It was recently revealed that Nitin had a talent for painting, which he had been trying to hone since childhood. 

In a Metro interview, Nitin opened up about how negative comments from an art dealer led him to abandon his painting ambition at the age of 17.

Nitin Ganatra revealed: “I was 17 and on a train, and the guy opposite me was an art dealer.

“We got chatting, and I asked him to look at my artwork and tell me what he thought. He agreed, looked at it, and scoffed.

“He said, ‘No you’re never going to make it. Forget it, this is schoolboy stuff’.

“It broke my heart because that was what I wanted to be.

“In that moment, to that 17-year-old boy, I would advise him to learn to say, ‘Go f*** yourself’ more often!

“Learn to say it. Don’t believe everything you’re told because I’ve spent my life being knocked down by people’s comments.

“Maybe I’m a little bit more sensitive to them than others, but when you have a belief and someone wants to trash your dream and kick it to the curb, it’s because of them, not you.

“It’s because of their own lack of fulfilment. That 17-year-old boy gave up a dream because of that comment.

“Lots of people told me I was never going to make it as an actor, and last year was 30 years as an actor for me.

“I got my Equity card in 1994. Now, I’ve come full circle to the world of painting again.”

In 2024, Nitin Ganatra shared how he rediscovered his love for painting during the Covid-19 lockdown, admitting that it saved him from depression. 

He continued to state: “It was like falling in love again, with my younger self and my younger childhood sweetheart who had disappeared out of my life for 18 years, and suddenly I’d reconnected with art in such a profound way that I just couldn’t stop painting.

“Lockdown was profound for everyone, even when they thought they were coping, it was a very profound thing that society went through.

“For me, I hit a huge depression, so the painting became that place where I felt safe again, and what’s different about it from the acting world is that I’m in control of my work.

“That’s where I’ve become a lot more authentic, simply because acting is a collaborative process where you’re serving the writing, the director, the camera, but painting is just me opening my heart on a canvas.

“It was quite life-affirming for me to get some control that way.”

Nitin has also had many of his paintings displayed at a private exhibition. 

He said: “I don’t have a concept that I want to transfer onto the canvas, but there is an emotive nature to them.

“The response I’ve been getting from people who have looked at my paintings is an emotional response.

“People feel something. There’s a story in the paintings.

“I’m still a firm believer that it’s the creative world that changes society.

“It’s the governments that keep society running, but it’s the creatives that nurture the society we live in.

“A lot of my collections are in the gallery. The big one for me with the most loved paintings is The Boy with the Boxing Gloves.

“I remember talking to one woman who got quite weepy looking at them.

Nitin Ganatra reflects on Childhood Dream & New Career - 1“There’s a theme of nature in there. There’s a theme of this boy, and innocence, and healing, and courage.

“These are things that I start to find within myself while I’m painting.

“Essentially, it all comes down to nature. Getting fresh air and putting your bare feet on grass. I have no embarrassment about that.

“There was a time when I’d have kept it to myself as people would have said it was spiritual and hippy nonsense.

“It is that, yes, but it’s not nonsense at all. It’s very therapeutic to be in nature.

“For me, it’s a dream come true, because I always wanted to be an artist full-time.

“I love my solitude, I can hide away for long periods of time.

“So, to paint and to have it exhibited and bought, sold and collected – this was what I wanted to do as a kid.”

“My life took me into acting instead, which has been incredibly fulfilling too, and incredibly successful, but to return to painting and make it a full-time thing where people want to buy your art because they love it, or investors want to make money on it, it’s become a reality for me.

“It’s a very exciting time now for me because to follow your dream is tough for people to do.

“We’re forced into getting by and surviving and paying the bills.

“We live in difficult times, I wouldn’t want to leave this life regretting that I didn’t try.

“You regret not trying to fulfil your dream. It’s taken this long to come to that.”

Manav is our content editor and writer who has a special focus on entertainment and arts. His passion is helping others, with interests in driving, cooking, and the gym. His motto is: “Never hang on to your sorrows. Always be positive."

Images courtesy of Nitin Ganatra Instagram.





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