Rajkummar Rao, now a celebrated actor known for his diverse roles in Bollywood, once faced significant financial challenges at home. In a recent interview, he revealed that there was a time when earning Rs. 300 was a significant milestone for him, a sum he spent on buying groceries.
This candid admission was made during his appearance on the latest episode of ‘Aapka Apna Zakir’ alongside Shraddha Kapoor, where they were promoting their film ‘Stree 2′. The conversation turned to the actors’ first salaries, prompting Rajkummar to share an emotional memory from his high school days.
Reflecting on that period, Rajkummar recounted, “I was in high school when I used to go teach dance to a seven-year-old girl at her house. I used to get Rs. 300 for training her. The first time when I received my first salary, I think it was six notes of Rs. 50. I was so happy because the financial situation at my house was not good in those days.” He added, “I used my first salary to buy groceries. And after buying everything, I was left with some money so I bought desi ghee. It was a big deal for us to have ghee on our rotis.”
When Shraddha was asked the same question, she shared her experience of working in the US. Her parents had sent her there to keep her grounded, providing her with a limited budget. To earn extra money, she took a job at a coffee shop, where her first paycheck was $40, which she spent on food.
Born in 1984 to Satya Prakash Yadav, a government employee in the Haryana revenue department, and Kamlesh Yadav, Rajkummar Rao faced personal losses when he lost his father in 2016 and his mother in 2019. The actor graduated from the University of Delhi and honed his acting skills at the Film and Television Institute of India. He made his Bollywood debut in 2010 with ‘Love Sex Aur Dhokha’ and gained recognition through varied roles in films like ‘Queen’, ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’, ‘Stree’, ‘Ludo’, and ‘Kai Po Che’. Currently, he stars in ‘Stree 2’, the sequel to the hit horror-comedy ‘Stree’, which released on August 15.