Rajkummar Rao is gearing up for the release of his film ‘Srikanth’, which is all slated to release on May 10. The actor, who made his acting debut with Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex aur Dhokha, recalled his struggling days in a recent podcast. The actor shared that at times he used to survive on a packet of Parle ji biscuits and Frooti and had once just Rs 18 left in his bank account. He also shared an incident that happened during the shoot of his film 'Stree' in Bhopal.


Rajkummar Rao recalls his struggling days


In a conversation with Ranveer Allahbadia, Rajkummar recalled the financial difficulties he faced during his struggling days. He said in Hindi, “The most difficult time was facing financial difficulty and getting no work. My mother supported me a lot and when I would run out of money, she would arrange it and send. I remember once I was left with only Rs 18 in my account and that too in a city like Mumbai. I used to spend very frugally. We three used to live in one flat and I used to skip lunch and have one Parle Ji and Frooti for lunch.” 


He added, “Now, the day I was left with only Rs 18, I was thinking what will I do? We have a FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) committee in Mumbai. A lot of our seniors and juniors live here. So, you can ring anybody and ask them what are they having for dinner and if you can come.” 


His preparation for becoming an actor


The actor also spoke about his preparation for becoming an actor and recalled how he used to cycle 70 km every day to his acting school. “I started preparing to become an actor after school. I used to go to acting school on a bicycle and would ride the cycle for 70 km up and down. I would hear songs like “Lakshya Ko Har Haal Me Pana Hai,” “Papa Kahte Hain” and all on my walkman on my way there. It sounds filmy now but it used to be a lot of fun.” 


Learning English


Being from Gurgaon, Rajkummar shared that he was not fluent in speaking English and realised that to survive in the industry he needed to learn the language. He said, "When I began my journey with LSD, I saw everyone here speaks in English. Coming from Gurgaon, where everyone speaks Hindi, English was just a subject for us to pass. Then, I started speaking and learned a lot just by listening. I also used to ask people. It's an organic process. "


Unnatural incident that happened during Stree


When asked about any spooky story or experience he felt during the shooting of horror films, the actor then recalled an incident that happened on the set of the horror-comedy 'Stree'. "We were shooting in Bhopal for Stree, and we had received a circular listing what we were not supposed to do. We were not allowed to wear perfume, girls were not supposed to keep their hair open, and we were supposed to stick together in groups everywhere. It was a night shoot. Our light man was sitting alone on a 15-foot wall, and the shoot was underway. Suddenly, he fell with a thud, and the first thing he screamed was that someone had pushed him. Then we prayed, apologising if we had disturbed someone unintentionally. Then we reshot the scene," he said.


Rajkummar has Mr and Mrs Mahi opposite Janhvi Kapoor, Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video with Tripti Dimri and Stree 2 in the pipeline.