Salaam Bombay Actor Shafiq Syed: In the film industry, the fortunes of many stars change overnight, but there are some stories which remain incomplete even after getting fame. Today we are telling you about an actor who, at the age of just 12, had caught the attention of the whole world with his powerful acting. His very first film reached the Oscar, he got the National Award and was also honored by the President. But despite this he did not get work in the industry. The situation became such that he had to leave the world of films and today he is forced to drive an auto to feed his family.
We are talking about Shafiq Syed, who played the role of Krishna (Chaipaav) in Mira Nair’s film ‘Salaam Bombay’ released in 1988. This film proved to be a huge hit and was also nominated for Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category. For Shafiq’s brilliant acting, he also received the National Film Award for Best Child Artist.
Life like a movie story
Shafiq’s life was no less than a film story. In the 1980s, he ran away from home and reached Mumbai without a ticket. When he was living on the streets near Churchgate station, one day a woman came to him and offered him Rs 20 to join her and other street children in an acting workshop. The rest of the children ran away from there, but Shafiq stayed back due to hunger. From here his life changed and he got the lead role in ‘Salaam Bombay’.
no one had given the work
In an interview, Shafiq had told that the shooting of the film lasted for 52 days and he was to get Rs 15,000 for it. The success of the film and getting photographed with the President was like a dream for him, but this dream did not last long. After the completion of the film, he made rounds of producers and studios in Mumbai for about eight months, but no one gave him work.
That’s why I started driving an auto.
Shafiq later also worked in Gautam Ghosh’s film ‘Patang’, but even this did not improve his career. Finally in 1993 he left Mumbai and returned to Bangalore. Here he started supporting his family by driving an auto rickshaw. He had to feed his five family members who were dependent on him, while his daily earning was only Rs 150. He had also revealed that due to continuous lack of work and broken dreams, he had tried to commit suicide twice.
regret this
In an interview given in 2013, Shafiq had said that he does not want his children’s life to be like his. He believes that if he had studied, he might have been able to make a long career in films. Later, he left auto driving and worked as a technician in Kannada TV serials, but even today he is living a simple life and fulfilling the responsibilities of his family.
Leave a Reply