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MUMBAI: Actor Rajkummar Rao of Bollywood is currently enjoying the success of his most recent project, Srikanth, a biographical film directed by Tushar Hiranandani. It is based on the life of physically handicapped billionaire Srikanth Bolla. In addition to the positive reception Rajkummar Rao's performance has received from all sides, the film is doing well at the box office.
The actor recently travelled back in time to remember the early years of his career after moving from his hometown of Gurugram (then known as Gurgaon) to Mumbai.
“When I was growing up, Gurgaon was not such a big city (as it is today). Compared to that, Mumbai was very expensive for me initially, especially since I hailed from a very humble background. The cultural difference was also very evident. But this is where I had to stay, and I always had immense love for Mumbai,” he said during a chat with We Are Yuvaa.
“Right after I completed Class 10, I came to Mumbai to give an audition for Boogie Woogie (a dance competition TV series). I just wanted to visit Mumbai, see the city, and maybe Shah Rukh Khan’s house too. I was 16 at that time. Along with my 12-year-old cousin, I came to the city on a train. Since neither of us had any money, we borrowed Rs 5,000 from an aunt. My family was very supportive, and they were fine with two kids travelling all the way to Mumbai alone. It took three days for us to reach Mumbai. But once here, I was mesmerised by the city,” he recalled.
Rajkummar talked about how he attended the Boogie Woogie audition but was not chosen. He also reminisced about his first trip to Mumbai and how he spent the entire day waiting in front of Shah Rukh Khan's home.
“On the last night, we stayed at the railway station itself and ate just vada pav because we were out of money by then. We were here for two days. We used to reach Mannat at 10 am and wait till 4-5 pm, hoping that we would see him.”
Recalling the first time he finally met Shah Rukh Khan face to face, Rajkummar said, “He is one of the reasons I became an actor. I was very impressed and inspired by his journey, especially since he too is from Delhi, an outsider, and had a theatre background. But meeting him was so surreal. We were promoting CityLights (2014) at that time. I got to know that he was shooting in Mehboob Studio. Though I wanted to meet him, I was scared initially. I messaged Shakun (Batra) who was there for an advertisement. Then, he got back and said that he (SRK) was calling me. I immediately started prepping up to introduce myself and tell him my name’s Rajkummar Rao and that I am an actor who studied in FTII. But he knew everything about me! He knew I had received a National Award for Shahid, that Kai Po Che was good, and that Citylights was coming soon. I was just sitting there like how he was in Om Shanti Om with ‘Aayi Aisi Raat Hai Jo’ playing in my head.”
Rajkummar went on to say that even after seeing Shah Rukh Khan numerous times, he still gets star struck whenever he sees Bollywood's Baadshah. “Even now, if I get a call from any of my seniors and see ‘Akshay Kumar calling’ or ‘Shah Rukh Khan calling,’ I get so excited. The fan and the Gurgaon kid inside me, who is still very much alive, get very excited.”
Also read: Wow! Check out the runtime of Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan
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Credit:- The Indian Express
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