Reel to real - A cruel twist of fate

MiD DAY brings you the touching tale of Sanjay Ingle, a theatre actor who has been forced to act out his role of a construction worker in Dhobi Ghat in real life to make ends meet

WHEN 28-year-old theatre actor Sanjay Ingle agreed to essay the character of a construction worker in Kiran Rao's Dhobi Ghat, he thought that an elusive world of opportunity had finally opened up for him.

Little did he know, however, that he would actually find himself sweating it out at construction sites to make ends meet a few months after the shoot got over.


Sanjay Ingle works as a construction worker at a site in Kurla

Ingle, who we found working as a labourer at a construction site in Kurla (W), is a graduate in sociology and Hindi from Siddharth College in Fort and has done his Masters in Theatre from Mumbai University.
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His impressive resume includes plays with veterans like Satyadev Dubey and Shivdas Ghodke.

"I have some experience in theatre but I wasn't getting good roles beyond a point and there simply isn't enough money in the profession in Mumbai.

That is when I decided to try my hand at Bollywood films and got some success when I was chosen to play a small role in Dhobi Ghat. Luck has eluded me from then on, however, and I was struggling to make ends meet.
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I took to working at construction sites to make some money," Ingle told MiD DAY.

Recalling his childhood, Ingle said his parents survived on a meagre salary but ensured that they never compromised on his education. But, in a cruel twist of fate, his father threw him out of his shanty in Bhayander last year because he wasn't making enough money.

"My parents worked hard to educate me and hoped I would help them financially. Unfortunately, I was not getting any work and so my father threw me out of the house. Now I live with a relative in Bhayander and need to take care of my needs myself," said Ingle.

"With a masters degree in theatre, people are unwilling to keep me even as an office boy.

I was left with no option but to work at construction sites. Things are so bad at the moment that I don't even have money to travel for auditions," he said.

"I pinch pennies and borrow from friends to go for auditions but the competition is intense and it is very difficult to land a role without someone's backing.

The other day I borrowed money from a friend to go to Pune for an audition but discovered that someone had already been finalised for the role by the time I got there," said Ingle, fighting to keep tears from welling up in his eyes.

Rs 50,000
The sum Ingle was paid for his role in Dhobi Ghat. He says the money only lasted a few months