Jamshedpur, Sept. 28: For Mohit Chouhan, the Man Friday of Shah Rukh Khan in Chak De! India, the journey began from Loyola here!

Much before Mohit (in picture, right), in early 30s, prodded Shah Rukh (Kabir in the movie) Khan to coach the national women’s team in the Shimit Amin movie, he spent his childhood at Loyola School with elder brother Manish, who assisted Mahesh Bhatt and Parto Ghosh in several films.

While Manish, a successful entrepreneur, lives in Dehra Dun, Mohit has found his feet firm in the tinsel town with small, yet significant, roles in D Company and Dhoom:2.

“I began my schooling at Loyola School, but later shifted to Sainik School in Nainital and then to Mumbai for graduation. Just after graduating, director Raman Kumar gave me a break in his serial Café 18 on Home TV. And since then there has been no looking back,” said Mohit from Mumbai.

And the rest, as they say, is history. From a spate of varied roles in television serials such as Lipstick, Meher, Kehta Hai Dil, Hello Darling and Tu Tu Main Main. Mohit got his first break in Bollywood with the Abhishek Bachchan and Ajay Devgan-starrer Zameen. “I played the role of a plane hijacker who gets killed by Abhishek,” he said.

What followed next were a series of cameos in Jurm, D Company and Main Hoon Na. But it was a small role in Yash Raj Films’s Dhoom:2 which made director Sanjay Gadhvi taking a serious note of him. “It was Sanjay who recommended my name to Shah Rukh Khan for Chak De! India and I must say it was an experience of a lifetime,” Mohit said.

Coming up next are two short films for Pritish Nandi Communications and another film, Website. “I also have interesting offers from TV18 and Tips, but it’s too early to talk about them,” added the budding star, who also runs a successful restaurant Blue Kitchen in Versova in Mumbai.

Cut to Dehra Dun. Manish runs a successful restaurant and a school there. “I just wanted to take a break from movies. I am happy with my stint here. In the next few months, I will wrap up my work gradually and once again shift to Mumbai and take up direction seriously,” said the alumnus of Loyola School and Bombay University.

Manish, too, found his mentor in Raman Kumar and that too for the same serial. “I played the lead role in Café 18 and then there were some interesting projects like Rahat for Zee,” said Manish. But unlike his brother, it was the desire to flaunt the director’s cap that caught his fancy than putting the grease paint. Manish got his first break for Mukesh Bhatt’s Vishesh Films and assisted director Mahesh Bhatt for Sir, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke and Junoon.