Without getting much guidance for a career in animation, Gaurav focused on his sketching skills and has now become a political cartoonist.

Gaurav Sarjerao is in the animation field and makes political cartoons. He has been in this field for the past eight years.

Recalling his childhood, Gaurav says he was brought up in the chawls of Mumbai. Growing up in an environment of festivals and artists sparked his interest in drawing. Seeing his interest in drawing, his parents always supported him. They never forced him about anything, and  let him become whatever he wanted to become.

Sharing about his journey, Gaurav says at first he didn’t know about the animation field. There was no one to guide him in his career. He joined the Shardashram School of Animation. He started learning classical animation, where he needed to draw using his hands to make animations. It further developed his skills. Afterwards, he also gained digital knowledge to improve his skills as an animator.

Talking about his mistakes, Gaurav says he never took decisions by listening to others because he believes that he should take the decisions that felt right to him. He also made some wrong decisions, which was his mistake. Furthermore, he used to think that he should have studied more before entering the field of animation.

Sharing his achievements, Gaurav says he used to watch Bal Thackeray and RK Laxman’s cartoons and used to draw them. Bal Thackeray used to draw the cover page of his magazine ‘Marmik’ himself. Now he does the same job as them, which is a huge accomplishment for him. Becoming a storyboard director is also a great achievement for him.

Gaurav says that people started saying that images generated by AI may affect his profession.  He also heard several times that if AI is generating a good cartoon, then why should we hire you? However, he feels that AI is good and will also further improve, but it cannot replace humans. He says that AI has increased competition, and as artists, we need to keep practicing and working on our skills. He believes that AI will impact the jobs of artists as it will be implemented by many companies, but there must be rules and regulations to minimize the impact of AI on human jobs.

When asked about his role models, Gaurav says they include Bal Thackeray, RK Laxman, and many other artists. He is also learning from many foreign artists on social media platforms, and he considers every one of them his role model. Furthermore, he is also influenced by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule, and Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Talking about his hobbies, Gaurav says he likes to act and mimic. He has also worked as an actor for advertisements.

When asked how he maintains mental peace, Gaurav says working is the best meditation for him as it helps him keep calm. He likes to draw in order to attain mental peace.

Gaurav’s life mantra is "Make your own decisions."

Advising young people, Gaurav says you should think more logically instead of taking decisions based on emotions. As an artist, you should think beyond religion, language, and culture. You should be more focused on developing your skills instead of diverting yourself on social media.