Rs 84 in account, no auto fare: How Dhurandhar's Gaurav Gera survived struggle days

Gaurav Gera has recalled the years before Dhurandhar, when he survived on Rs 84 in his bank account in Mumbai. He said family support, self-respect and caution against arrogance shaped his journey.

In Short

• Gaurav Gera opened up on his early struggles in Mumbai
• He said nobody in his family had any connection to films
• Gera recalled his father's support during the struggling phase

Actor Gaurav Gera opened up about the severe financial hardships he faced during his early struggles in Mumbai. The Dhurandhar: The Revenge actor recalled a time when he had just Rs 84 left in his bank account and would routinely walk long distances when he couldn't afford auto fare.

Despite the recent success of the film and its sequel, Gera revealed how those lean years kept him grounded and why he consciously avoids letting his revived popularity go to his head. In an interview with Jist, the 52-year-old looked back at his journey into acting, his family's support, and the financial struggles he faced after moving to Mumbai.

Speaking about his family's support, Gera said, "Mere papa IIT-BHU se engineer hain, bhai software engineer hai, but mujh par kuchh thopa nahi gaya. Iske liye main thankful hoon (My father is an engineer from IIT-BHU, and my brother is a software engineer, but nothing was forced on me. I am grateful for that)."

The actor also opened up about his financial struggles after moving to Mumbai. "Mere account mein Rs 84 the. Main HDFC Bank ke saamne se guzarta tha aur bank ko dekh kar kehta tha, 'Mera khayal rakhna.' Main aate-jaate bank ko mattha tek ke jaata tha (I had just Rs 84 in my account. I would pass by a bank and jokingly ask it to take care of me)," Gera went on.

He recalled how his father supported him despite limited means. "Papa salaried person the. Unke letters abhi bhi mere paas hain jahan likha hota tha, 'Rs 2,000 bhej raha hoon, isse zyada nahi hai (My father was a salaried employee. I still have his letters where he would write that he was sending Rs 2,000, and that was all he could afford),'" Gera added.

Looking back at that phase of his life, the actor explained that the hardships never felt like a heavy burden to him while he was going through them. He shared that whenever he lacked the money for an auto, he would simply choose to walk. Driven by self-respect, he focused entirely on his long-term goal, noting that he always "wanted to be someone who gives, not takes."

Gera played Mohammad Aalam aka Aalam Bhai in Dhurandhar film series, featuring actors Ranveer Singh, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, Sanjay Dutt, Manav Gohil and Danish Pandor in key roles.

The espionage thriller series was directed by Aditya Dhar.

- Ends