Overview

• He lived on one meal per day at a Bandra station dhaba, alternating between kaali daal with roti and palak paneer with roti.
• He became emotional recalling the day a dhaba owner gifted him free daal, telling him “aaj aapka daal ka din hai.”
• His first film fee was ₹50,000 for Jaan Tere Naam in 1992, disbursed in monthly instalments of ₹4,000.
• He said withdrawing from industry networking limited his early opportunities despite his debut.
• His Hindi Rush podcast interview has renewed focus on the role of generosity and precarity in Bollywood’s competitive landscape.