Many may not immediately recognise the name Sumeet Pathak, but they are likely to remember his face. As a child actor, he played the younger version of Shah Rukh Khan’s Ajay Malhotra in the 1993 thriller Baazigar. The role was brief, but his performance stood out enough to earn him a Filmfare Award for Best Child Actor and open more doors in the industry. He continued acting through the 1990s, later became a popular television superhero in Hero Bhakti Hi Shakti Hai, and then gradually moved away from acting. Today, Sumeet is working in a very different part of the entertainment business as a media tech entrepreneur.
From Baazigar to more films
Sumeet made his acting debut with Ek Ladka Ek Ladki in 1992. A year later, Baazigar changed the course of his career. As the young Ajay Malhotra, he played the childhood version of Shah Rukh Khan’s character and made an impression on audiences despite having limited screen time.
The success of the film was followed by more work. He appeared in Ikke Pe Ikka in 1994 and went on to feature in Rajkumar and Maahir in 1996. At the same time, he was also working on his training. He graduated from the National School of Drama in Delhi and received training in classical dance.
From child actor to television superhero
Like many child actors, Sumeet eventually had to make the difficult move into adult roles. He returned to films in 2002 with Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge, where he played Salman Khan’s brother. In 2004, he appeared in Taarzan: The Wonder Car with Vatsal Sheth.
His most memorable adult role, however, came on television. From 2005 to 2007, he played Joy Sehgal in Hungama TV’s Hero Bhakti Hi Shakti Hai. The show became particularly popular with younger viewers, with Joy gaining superpowers from Goddess Durga and using them to take on villains.
He was also active as a voice artist. He worked on popular animated shows including Oswald, Power Rangers, Richie Rich and Beyblade. He also lent his voice to the Hindi versions of several South Indian films.
A completely different career
Sumeet eventually chose to step away from acting and move into a different part of the entertainment business. He started Gulmohar Media with his wife and business partner Shweta Pathak, and what began with language localisation has since grown into a much larger post-production operation. The company now has studios across six Indian cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.
Technology has also become a key part of the way the company works. Gulmohar Media uses cloud-based editing and production, making it possible for teams to work remotely instead of depending entirely on traditional studio setups. The company has also expanded its accessibility work, offering sign language services along with audio description.
One of the projects that helped put Gulmohar Media on the industry map was Satyamev Jayate, the socially focused show produced by Aamir Khan Productions. The company handled the show’s language localisation, including dubbing it into multiple languages across different cities. The scale of the assignment gave the team an opportunity to prove that it could manage large and complex localisation projects, and helped the company gain wider recognition.
Gulmohar Media has since expanded into content creation as well. The company is developing two Indian anime projects and is also working on international content from countries including France and Germany for audiences in Southeast Asia. Its work has also brought it partnerships with major streaming platforms such as Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLIV and Prime Video.
Social media presence
Sumeet Pathak is active on social media, where he shares updates from his professional life along with occasional glimpses of his personal life. His posts suggest that he is now a father to a daughter. His Instagram posts also offer a look at the causes and issues he follows. He had shared posts about Sonam Wangchuk and Rhiya Ahir during the Cockroach Janta Party protests in New Delhi and Mumbai, where protesters were demanding the removal of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister back in June and July 2026.