Manav Kaul used to find coins from the river for expenses: once there was no money even to buy toothpaste; Then did films with Akshay-Amitabh

'You talk about struggle, my whole life has been a roller coaster. I come from a family where there was no such thing as pocket money. Getting two meals a day was a big deal. I have spent most of my life in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh. When I was in fifth or sixth standard, I used to go swimming in Narmada river with my friends. There, the devotees who used to throw coins in the river, all of us friends would take out that money and use that money to arrange our tea and breakfast. At 2 pm, at his home in Mumbai's Versova, actor, writer and director Manav Kaul is telling me the story of his rise to success. After a few moments of silence, Manav says, 'Earlier my entire family used to live in Kashmir. Then we came to Hoshangabad. I was probably in 5th standard at that time. The financial condition of the family was not good at all. My father could not even afford to send me to a private school. In order not to waste the year, I was admitted to a government school. I was not good at studies, good thing I got admission in a government school, otherwise the money would have been wasted. (Laughs) As soon as I heard this, I asked him – have you also been a national level swimmer? Yes, this is true. One day I was taking coins out of the river when a swimming coach caught my eye. He showed me the way forward in my career as a swimmer. I have won swimming competitions up to national level. I have a total of 14 National Awards. Interestingly, through this I was also supposed to get a government job, but I had to reject it due to the acting craze. So when did you realize you wanted to be an actor? One day I saw a play at Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal. After watching this I was introduced to a new world. For days I couldn't stop myself from thinking about that play. Finally decided that now I just want to act, no matter what. Family members did not oppose this decision? I first told my mother about becoming an actor. He told me – if you want to be an actor, focus on that. Leave everything else aside. These words of my mother gave me a lot of confidence and I left for Mumbai to fulfill my dream. Did you regret your decision to become an actor after seeing the struggle in Mumbai? Manav didn't answer this question, but he definitely spoke about the struggle in Mumbai. He said, 'The Mumbai struggle was truly exhausting. I was staying here in Chal with three friends. Along with struggling to get work in films, also did theatre. There was also a problem with eating and drinking. I remember one day I had only 75 rupees left. There was no other source of income. There was no condition to borrow from anyone. The situation has come to the point of giving up. Then the three of us went to a friend who lived in Malad. Although he also lived in a chawl, he helped us. He arranged for us to stay at the house of one of his acquaintances. We got shelter to stay. His wife also fed us food everyday. From this incident it was realized that even if there is no work, you do not die of hunger. Food is arranged from somewhere. One out of three of us got a job and started earning Rs 100 a day. We felt that we would also benefit from their employment. However, this did not happen. One day we saw him brushing his teeth with toothpaste. I didn't even have money to buy toothpaste. Not only this, 700-800 rupees were also found from his bag. Seeing this broke my heart and left the house at that moment. That day I had to sleep on cardboard. Even while narrating the story of the days of struggle, the smile did not disappear from Manav's face. As if they are saying that with today's success they have overcome this sorrow. What was your family's reaction to your condition? Once my brother came into the room. Seeing the condition of the room, he got angry with me and said – 'One day you will come back with a bag. I will never come to your house after today.' He knew I was stubborn, I was not afraid. This is the reason why the family members may have some grudges, but they have supported every step of the way. Why did you distance yourself after working on the TV show? People work very hard in the TV industry. The shooting continues for 17-18 hours. Due to which the person becomes very tired and this tiredness starts showing in the form of depression. Exactly the same thing happened to me. I was tired of doing TV shows. He was becoming more and more irritable day by day. Finally I refused to work in TV shows. By this time I had reached a point where I would only do things that made me happy. I stopped judging the world. Did you take a break from acting after your debut film 'Jajantram-Mamantram'? 'Yes, it is true. After the first film, I took a break from full-time acting for a while. Worked in theater only writing and directing. Everyone knows that the income in theater is very low. When there was no money, he did episodic work in side roles in TV shows and films. I have also worked as a junior artiste.' So what was the reason that inspired you to work in 'Kai Po Hai'? I directed a film 'Hansa' which was a flop. Lost a lot of money. I was in dire need of money at that time. Then I came to know that the audition for the film 'Kai Po Hai' was going on. I also auditioned and got selected. After working in this film, I started enjoying acting. I didn't get much fee for this film, but the debt definitely reduced to some extent. I was able to move out and live in a house. Usually one has to face rejection. How did you deal with this situation? The rejection made me lack confidence. If a filmmaker casts me in his film, I start thinking that he should do something with me. I began to doubt people's praise. Is it true that you didn't even have money to go home during the success party of the movie 'Kai Po Hai'? Manav starts laughing loudly at this question of mine. He says, 'Yes, this is also true. Actually, after the film's success party, I left the hotel at night to go home. When I put my hand in my pocket, I realized that I had only 22 rupees left. Going home for 22 rupees was not possible at all. Then I went out and did a trick, went to an auto driver and said – brother I have only 22 rupees. Take me as far as your car can go for these 22 rupees. Then drop me. The auto driver accepted my request and took me halfway and dropped me off. I covered the remaining distance on foot. Do you think your career is back on track after the movie 'Kai Po Hai'? Yes, I agree with this. After this film I acted in films like 'Citylights', 'Wazir', 'Jolly LLB 2' and 'Tumhari Sulu'. I got a chance to work with Amitabh Bachchan in 'Wazir' and Akshay Kumar in 'Jolly LLB 2'. I worked with big actresses like Vidya Balan in 'Tumhari Sulu' and Madhuri Dixit in the series 'Fame Game'. The characters of these films have given me a new identity in the industry. Now I stand on the stage that I need no introduction. Now there is no need to struggle even to ask for work. Now I am also free to choose the script as per my choice. I also did not get married so that I could be free in life. (Laughs) Recently I was seen in the series 'Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper'. This series has been trending at Top 1 on Netflix India for almost 5 weeks. My series 'Baramulla' is going to release in the coming days, the story of which is written by a director-writer like Aditya Dhar. Apart from this, I have the film 'Salam Noi Appa', in which I will be working with famous actress Dimple Kapadia. There is also a secret to my success. I have cut down my expenses a lot. I don't believe in much fanfare. Due to which life has become very easy and beautiful…

Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).