Mumbai5 minutes agoAuthor: Kiran Jain and Abhinav Tripathi
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This time the story in Success Story is of actor-dancer Faizal Khan.
Faizal Khan, a boy who grew up in the streets of Mumbai. Born in a poor family. Father used to drive an auto. The compulsion was such that on days when the car did not run, it was difficult to even get food.
Faizal had the talent of dance. Today, because of this talent, he is a big star of TV. In 2012, he became the winner of the dance reality show DID Little Master-2. The show gave him recognition.
Soon, acting offers also started coming. Bought a house in Mumbai with my own money. Bought a Mercedes car. Opened a shop for my father. However, it was not all that easy. Problems arose at every turn. Listened to people’s taunts. There came a time when I wanted to commit suicide.
Faizal never had money to eat, but today, whichever show he goes to, he becomes the highest paid actor or contestant.
Story from struggle to success in his own words
The day the auto broke down, the stove in the house could not be lit. My career started with Dance India Dance Little Master. I only knew dancing since childhood, I had no idea about acting.
We couldn’t even afford the fees for dance classes. My father used to drive an auto. The house was run with that. That auto was also not his own, father had taken it on rent from someone. The day there was a fault in the auto, the stove could not be lit. We used to remain hungry.
Relatives used to say – he dances, he is gay When I started dancing in my childhood, people around me taunted me. Some relatives even called me gay because I used to dance. I used to wear my father’s clothes, this also seemed bad to him. They used to say, look, he is roaming around wearing his father’s clothes.
Papa was the only person who supported me the most. He used to take me in the local train for auditions. While coming and going, I used to sleep in his lap in the train itself.
Sometimes my body would become stiff while dancing. Then father used to press me whole body at home. Used to release my muscles. I have not told this to anyone.
Picture of Faizal Khan auditioning for DID Little Master (2012). Faizal was 13 years old at that time.
Came to audition wearing a T-shirt worth Rs 100 During the Dance India Dance audition, he went to the show wearing a T-shirt worth Rs 100 and pants worth Rs 200. Used to buy clothes from roadside carts. At that time I did not know what showroom etc. was. He could just see the showroom from a distance.
Lived in a chawl, then bought a flat directly My life changed after working in the TV show Maharana Pratap. With my fees I bought a flat on Mira Road, Mumbai. Before that the entire family lived in a chawl in Ghatkopar.
When I bought the house, everyone I knew was shocked. They couldn’t believe how he bought a house in a big building straight from the chawl. No one believed that dancing could bring so much fame.
When I broke my leg, it felt like everything was over. There came a moment in life when it seemed that everything was over. My leg was broken. Dancing became impossible. I couldn’t understand what to do. I had the responsibility of the house.
If the house had been demolished then it would have been difficult to meet the expenses. Started wondering what other skills I have besides dancing. I knew driving. I even thought that if nothing could be done, I would become someone’s driver.
Faizal fell from a horse during the shooting of the TV show Chandragupta Maurya (2019).
Thoughts of suicide, felt like jumping off the building. When the leg healed a little, the lockdown was imposed. There was nothing to do. At that time I became depressed. Random thoughts started coming in my mind.
I felt like committing suicide by jumping from the building. But, I also wondered what would happen to my family if something happened to me. However, things got better as a few days passed. When the leg was completely healed, I started getting work. After some trouble everything went well.
He was fair in appearance, that’s why Yash Raj’s film was not available. I also auditioned for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Bajirao Mastani. Was also selected in that. Bhansali sir was very happy. Everything is finalized. Then suddenly what happened in the end was that it was refused from the front. I was absolutely devastated.
Similarly, Yash Raj banner’s film Gunday also remained a mixed bag. In that film, I had to play the childhood role of either Ranveer Singh or Arjun Kapoor. I didn’t get that role just because I was fair looking.
The makers were looking for a boy with dusky skin. I also said that I would tan myself by playing in the sun, but perhaps the production people wanted something else.
Well, whatever happens, happens for the good. At the time when both these films were released, I got two different shows. Got both fame and money from those two shows.
First car was of Maruti, now owner of Mercedes I was very fond of cars since childhood. Even when I had nothing, I used to think only about cars. After winning DID I bought a second hand Maruti Wagon-R. Sitting in my own car for the first time was a very pleasant experience.
, Read the previous episode of Success Story here..
People used to say- imitates Bachchan: When he became Bhishma, he got respect, borrowed it and made him Shaktiman.
In his career spanning almost 50 years, he gave priority to ideals and principles over money. Rejected offers worth crores of rupees. Didn’t go to any filmmaker’s door to ask for work. Read the full news..
