Rajkummar Rao spoke to 'Humans of Bombay' about how he grew up hero-worshipping Shah Rukh Khan and believing that he too could become something from nothing in Bollywood.
SRK inspired Rao to never give up and we know how that turned out to be.
From humble beginnings in advertisements to his first break in 'Love Sex Aur Dhokha', Rao spoke his heart out.
Early days
It's not easy being a star in Bollywood
Rao's journey started when he came to Mumbai but initially he couldn't find much work. He often lived on as little as Rs. 10,000 a month, working small roles in advertisements.
Sometimes, financial constraints forced him to share meals with friends.
However, giving up was never an option for Rao. He played his share of small parts and always trusted his talent would eventually be recognized.
Big break
Good things come to those who wait and work
Rao was also pretty persistent. An example of this is that he followed up with casting director Atul Mongia constantly, till he got an audition call.
However, it was a tense week for Rao, and we can totally understand why.
He then got the call which changed his life. The actor got the lead role in 'Love Sex Aur Dhokha'.
What happened
Meeting King: A fanboy moment and a dream come true
By his own admission, Rao is a hardcore SRK fan.
Interestingly, he had added several high-profile films to his repertoire like 'Kai Po Che!' and 'Queen' before he managed to meet SRK.
The meeting became more special since SRK knew all about Rao's work.
Rao's takeaway was that dreams do come true and one shouldn't stop believing.
Bollywood journey
Rajkummar Rao wows us with his performance every single time
Rao remains one of the most valuable additions of Bollywood. The talented man has shown he's comfortable in diverse roles. From 'Newton' to 'Aligarh', Rao has acted in many socially relevant movies, and also in commercial movies like 'Bareilly Ki Barfi.'
With 'Stree', Rao has given us a glimpse of dancing skills too.
As fans, we just can't get enough of him!
