This actor won a National Award and was featured in an Oscar-nominated film; today he runs an AUTO RICKSHAW | Hindi Movie News

Shafiq Syed won a National Award and starred in the Oscar-nominated “Salaam Bombay”! as a child, he was found on the streets of Mumbai. Despite initial success and a meeting with the President, the ad ran out of steam. He returned to Bangalore, later appeared in ‘Patang’, and eventually became a truck driver to support his family.

Many people believe that winning a national acting award and starring in an Oscar-nominated film can boost an actor’s career. But that didn’t happen Shafiq Sayed. He was picked on the streets of Mumbai by an actor and played a child actor Mira Nair‘s ‘Salaam Bombay!’. However, his movie career ended sooner than he expected. With no other offers coming in, Shafiq had to start driving a motorcycle to earn money.

Shafiq Syed’s flight to Mumbai

According to a report in Indian Express, Shafiq left his home in Bangalore in the 1980s and traveled to Mumbai without buying a ticket, hoping to see if the city really matched his Bollywood image. While living on the streets near Churchgate station at the time, one day he was approached by a woman offering him and other street children R20 to join a drama school. Many other children ran away, thinking of cheating, but Shafiq, due to hunger, decided to go with them. Out of the many children present, he was chosen as the lead in Mira Nair’s ‘Salaam Bombay!’, a film that went on to become one of the three Indian films nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Shafiq Syed’s dream that vanished

After the film became a big hit, Shafiq decided to make acting his career. Respected by President of India and winning the National Film Award was the happiest moment of his life. But soon, he quit acting. Feeling inferior, she left Mumbai and returned to her home town of Bangalore. When he reached home, he stopped thinking about acting and instead became a rickshaw driver. He had five relatives who depended on him, and he only got Rs 150 a day.

Shafiq Syed why it doesn’t feel like doing

In an interview with Open Magazine in 2010, Shafiq said, “When I was filming, I felt that I didn’t have to do anything.” It includes language, stories and experiences that I have experienced before. People called Salaam Bombay! and ‘art film’. But the truth is, it was not like that. It was like my own story. It was Indian life on the streets. It was a life that was not different from death, and I lived in it. Supporting me were co-actors Raghuvir Yadav, Nana Patekar, Anita Kanwar. I learned that being proactive means someone who is genuinely ‘doing something’ about a problem. Another person’s movement is a sign of what I should do. I had to learn these little things. Even being alone in front of the camera was an on-set lesson for me. “He said, “When I returned to Bombay, the news of Salaam Bombay! was in several newspapers. It went on to be nominated for one award or the other, and won other international awards. Nobody invited me to receive the awards. The only time I went to do something else was when I was invited to receive the National Award in Delhi. I was in and out of countless films, but not working in Bomba. I used to go with newspaper clippings where I was mentioned. A couple of times, the senior assistant director saw the cuts, saw my picture and asked: “Aaj khana khaya kya?”.

Shafiq Syed on a dream that ended suddenly

Speaking to us earlier, he said: “We shot for 52 days and they agreed to pay me 15,000. I was very happy. After filming, I used to go to watch movies and enjoy street food in Mumbai. The movie was very popular and when the President filmed with me, it was all a dream. But the dream ended suddenly. He knocked on the doors of producers for about eight months, but luck did not smile.“

Shafiq Syed’s latest movie

Following ‘Salaam Bombay!’, Shafiq Syed went on to appear in yet another film, Gautam Ghose‘s ‘Patang’, but did not take up any other projects after that.