Ronit Roy Remembers Surviving On One Meal A Day, Gets Emotional Recalling Dhaba Owner’s Gesture
Ronit Roy broke down recalling days he survived on one meal, often just rotis and onions. He remembered a kind dhaba owner who once gave him free daal, saying, “Aapka daal ka din hai.”
Ronit Roy, known today for his powerful performances across television and film, recently opened up about the years of hardship that preceded his breakthrough. In an honest conversation on the Hindi Rush podcast, the Udaan actor reflected on the challenges he faced during the early days of his career, long before he became a household name.
Ronit Roy recalls days of struggle
Before his debut in Deepak Balraj Vij’s 1992 film 'Jaan Tere Naam', Roy revealed that he lived in near poverty and struggled to afford even a single meal a day. Looking back at that time, he admitted that his own personality may have held him back. “I honestly don’t know why my career didn’t take off in the early days. I used to think about it a lot before, but now I don’t. I stay in my own zone, and I think a lot of it also happened because I stopped going to people for work, and hence, they stopped giving me opportunities.”
Ronit gets emotional
The actor, known for playing emotionally complex characters, became visibly emotional while recalling one particular memory that has stayed with him over the years. “Near Bandra station, there is a very famous dhaba, and every day I used to eat there. I only had one meal, because that is all I could afford, and I used to alternate between kaali daal 2 roti and palak paneer 2 roti. One day, I just asked them for some roti and onions because I was out of money. He gave me 2 rotis and some daal. I told him that I hadn’t asked for the daal, and he said, ‘Koi baat nahi meri taraf se, aaj aapka daal ka din hai (It’s on me, because you always eat daal on this day).'”
Ronit couldn’t hold back tears as he described the kindness of that stranger, saying he still remembers the man’s face to this day.
Even after his film debut, things didn’t improve overnight. The actor shared that he was paid ₹50,000 for his first film, but the amount came in monthly instalments of just ₹4,000. “Back then, that was a huge amount for me. But even after the debut, all the films I did helped me barely manage my expenses. The money never came; it was all still hand to mouth,” he said.
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