Blind luck

A beggar by profession, Manoj Rai becomes overnight sensation after his cameo in Aamir Khan’s PK

From a beggar to a virtual celebrity, India’s Manoj Roy gained his five seconds of fame in Rajkumar Hirani’s film PK, reported newindianexpress.com.

Roy auditioned for the role amongst eight beggars for a scene in the Aamir Khan starrer PK, which released on December 19. Aided by a stick and eyes covered in thick dark glasses, Roy stands by the roadside to beg as Aamir approches him dancing and steals some coins from the begging bowl. The scene lasts for about five seconds, but it was enough for Manoj to shoot to fame overnight.



The 39-year-old was born at Bedeti in northern Assam’s Sonitpur district, India. A son of a daily-wage earner, Manoj lost his mother when he was an infant. He dropped out of school when he was in class five and chose to beg for a living. “My father would often fall sick. Not knowing what to do, I left for Delhi and started begging by pretending I was blind. One day, two gentlemen came calling asking me if I knew acting. I said it was acting that is giving me two meals a day. They gave me INR20 note and a phone number before leaving. When I called them, I was asked to go to Nehru Stadium. The next day, when I reached the stadium, I found myself amongst a crowd, all members of the film unit. I was taken to a place for auditions, where I saw seven other beggars, all blind. I knew nothing about the film or the actors involved. If anything, it was food, offered for free, that drew me there for six to seven days till my selection,” Manoj said.

He added he could not believe his eyes when he was accommodated in a five-star hotel in Delhi. “In the slums, scarcity of water forced me to go without taking a bath for days. But at the hotel, I could cool off my heels in the swimming pool. I could also rub shoulders with Aamir and Anushka Sharma. I still cannot believe those days,” Manoj said.



With the money earned by acting in the film, Manoj went to Mumbai and stayed there for a few days before visiting his native village, Tezpur. His little antic in the film was enough for him to come home to a hero’s welcome. “The promo was enough to win hearts. People now call me PK Honey Singh. I have a Facebook account and a job in a village shop, as well as girlfriend, whom I will meet for the first time on Christmas. It’s all because of Aamir Khan,” Manoj said with a giggle. “I am now looking forward to acting in Assamese and Bengali movies,” he added.

Comedy-drama PK also stars Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla, and Sanjay Dutt.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2014.

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