‘Home felt like a public toilet’: Actor Rajiv Thakur cries recalling childhood poverty

Comedian Rajiv Thakur got emotional as he revisited his difficult childhood during a conversation on Vaibhav Munjal’s podcast. Known for his impeccable comic timing on The Great Indian Kapil Show, Rajiv revealed that he rarely speaks about his early years because the memories are still too painful. Recalling a life marked by extreme poverty, he spoke about growing up in a one-room house, studying under a single 40-watt bulb and surviving on the bare minimum before finding success in the entertainment industry.

Fighting back tears, Rajiv admitted that revisiting his childhood still overwhelms him.

“My journey began in circumstances I don’t even want to remember. If I tell people about it today, it may sound made up because there’s no one to verify it. People often say you should turn your pain into stand-up comedy. I do that sometimes, but even while performing those jokes, the pain is so real that I end up in tears backstage. That’s why I rarely talk about that phase of my life.”

‘Everything happened in a single room’

Rajiv said his family’s life changed overnight after his parents got married.

“It was just like those old Hindi films. After my parents got married, my father was thrown out of the family home. Overnight, they went from living in a comfortable house to a single-room home. That one room was our bedroom, living room, kitchen and even our bathroom. Three children were born and raised there. If one person was bathing, the other four had to wait outside. I used to feel like our home was a public toilet.”

The comedian said his father’s thread factory in Amritsar was destroyed during the unrest of 1984, leaving the family without a stable source of income.

“My father was unemployed. We couldn’t even pay the rent. There was only one 40-watt bulb in the room. I hated yellow light because I’d never seen a tube light. Whenever I visited someone’s house and saw white light, I’d wonder when we’d ever have one in our home.”

He added that even electricity came with restrictions.

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“The landlord would switch off the light at 9 pm because electricity was included in the rent. After that, we either had to sleep or sit with an oil lamp.”

Rajiv also spoke about the daily struggles that defined his childhood.

“We lived on the third floor without a lift, so we had to carry buckets of water upstairs every day. My mother stitched clothes to support the family, and she would carry the clothes to customers and bring them back.”

Looking back, he said it still amazes him how far he has come.

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“Sometimes I feel I’ve achieved much more than I ever imagined. But then you look around and feel someone else has gone ahead. That’s probably the nature of life.”

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‘Fifty grams of butter was a luxury’

The comedian had spoken about the same phase in an earlier interview with Hindi Rush, revealing that the memories continue to influence him even today.

He had revealed that his family of five lived in the same cramped one-room house, and during winters, they covered ventilation holes with discarded newspapers to keep out the cold.

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The comedian also said that 50 grams of Amul butter was considered a luxury in their household.

“My father would buy a 50-gram packet of butter, and the three siblings would share it. Our parents wouldn’t have any. We wanted more, but there simply wasn’t any.”

Even today, Rajiv says he asks for extra butter whenever he visits Amritsar because it reminds him of a childhood treat he could rarely enjoy.

Poverty still influences how he lives

In an earlier appearance on Dostcast, he revealed that he still switches on all the lights in his bedroom because darkness reminds him of the years his family lived under a single bulb.

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He also explained why he now prefers travelling in business class and staying in premium hotels.

“If I’m performing for a friend, I can even do the show for free or reduce my fee. But I won’t compromise on a business class ticket or a good hotel. That experience means more to me than money. As a child, I’d watch successful people in films—the way they sat, the way they ordered food. I don’t want money anymore; I want that feeling.”

About Rajiv Thakur

Rajiv Thakur began his comedy journey alongside Kapil Sharma and Chandan Prabhakar in Amritsar before moving to Mumbai to pursue a career in entertainment. Over the years, he has appeared in several comedy shows and is now a familiar face on The Great Indian Kapil Show.