Ashok Pathak: Father had never seen 1 lakh rupees together, I became a millionaire in just one and a half months

The third season of ‘Panchayat’, which recently aired on OTT, has created a lot of buzz. Every character of this show has brought equal life to the series, seeing which you cannot say who is the lead hero and who is the side hero. Till now you must have read and heard a lot about Oshak Pathak, who plays the character of Binod in this series. But perhaps very few people know that Ashok has even tried his/her hand in Hollywood. Now how did a boy studying in 9th class, who used to sell cotton by roaming around on a bicycle in the afternoon of June, reach such heights, how he/she was surprised to see so much money in his/her account in the first month of starting work, today in presswire18 Times’ ‘Monday Motivation’ we will know the real story of this artist. This story of his/her life is no less than an inspiration for those artists who dream of coming to the film world, but there are many obstacles in front of them.

Ashok Pathak has shared his/her story with ‘Josh Talks’ and has told his/her story from the beginning. In this conversation, he/she said, ‘The children whose parents tell them that son, don’t hang out with this boy, he/she will spoil you… consider that I was that boy. I was not feeling like studying, so I said that I have to earn money and take care of the house. At that time, I was in the ninth class and started selling cotton with my uncle. I don’t know how I got the energy at that time, I used to go from Faridabad to Palwal, Badarpur border Sector 6, I used to cycle 20-20 kilometers and that too in the scorching afternoon of May-June. I had learned by watching my uncle.’

‘They used to rob people at the ticket window to buy movie tickets’

he/she further said, ‘I think acting was born somewhere inside me from there, poverty also taught me a bit of acting. I used to think that I will get a little emotional and tell the medical people that Sir this cotton is worth 60 rupees, I am selling it for 70…10 rupees are saved, I am also studying so please take it… However, that bundle used to come for 50 instead of 60 and I was sticking it for 70. Many times when someone did not feel like it, they would buy it thinking I was a child. Graduation changed my life. I was fond of singing, I thought I would also become an artist. I was fond of films. There was also a time when I fought at the ticket window to get a ticket, I remember Mission Kashmir, I remember the film Jaanwar. I have done a lot of snatching tickets by climbing the window. I still remember the movie Dulhan hum le jayenge was playing in Sagar cinema, that day my cotton was also sold out in an hour, I happily bought a ticket for 15 rupees, ate gutkha, smoked a cigarette and watched the movie with pride.

Friends used to laugh at Ashok Pathak by making fun of his/her looks

Ashok told that he/she did commercial theatre in Hisar. My college teachers and professors supported me a lot. My college professor said- direct a play, you will also get money and I got 40 thousand rupees from there. I reached Mumbai with that money. Maybe God was with me, my friends also used to say that you don’t have any looks, how will you become a hero. Everyone used to laugh that brother will become our hero.

I became a millionaire in Mumbai in one and a half months

he/she said, ‘When I reached Mumbai, I got my first job in Sony TV. I got Rs. 2500 and my happiness knew no bounds as I was working in Mumbai on my fifth day. My passion was that I had to do films. I used to roam every nook and corner of Mumbai looking for work. Within a month, I was a millionaire in Mumbai. I got a Domino’s ad. I got Rs. 70,000 for one day and two days of work. When I was told this on the phone, I felt I would faint. I asked – are you saying 17 or 70? he/she said you are final and you will get 70 more for this ad. You won’t believe that within a month and a half, I had more than a lakh rupees in my account. My father had never been able to save so much money during his/her job and I was a millionaire in Mumbai within a month and a half.’

Worked with everyone from Brendan Fraser to Ronald Pickup

In the same conversation, he/she told that acting also took him/her to Hollywood. Ashok said, ‘I have also worked with Brendan Fraser (American Canadian actor), Ronald Pickup and have also done a Hollywood film, whose title was The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015).

‘I never thought Panchayat would be such a hit, I cried after reading the message’

he/she said, ‘I worked honestly in Panchayat and when it was released and all these things happened, I felt that I had not thought of this. There are so many great characters there, where am I among them. But there will be such a flood of Vinod and memes…I cried after reading some messages. Panchayat settled in the heart of every person and Vinod settled because of that Panchayat.’