Gurfateh Pirzada recalls cleaning bathrooms, working at grocery shops illegally in Canada

Actor Gurfateh Pirzada opened up about the struggles in his personal and professional life during a conversation with Hindustan Times. He recently starred in Netflix’s Class as Neeraj Kumar Valmiki. Talking about the show which revolved around classism and the power of money, Gurfateh revealed how he once suffered from an identity crisis while studying in one of the top schools in Delhi.

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Class is out and reviews are looking good for you. Did it meet your expectation?

I was nervous because I didn’t know how it would go. We shot over such a long time, I had zero ideas what I had done. I am glad that people have seen I worked hard on my character.

Did you watch the original show, Elite? Were you inspired by anything there?

No, not really. It’s a different character, the language is different. The world is different. Nano Garcia’s (Jaime Lorente) character is from Spain and my (character) is from old Delhi. I come from Bombay and before that, I studied in an elite school in Delhi exactly like in Class. I had a very different upbringing. I have had tough times in my life. I have done some really odd jobs. I have worked in a meat shop, and pizza shop, and swept floors of a grocery shop. Back in the days, I was 18 years old, to make some money and make ends meet. I think that helped because I knew how hard life can get.

How was your experience in school?

I would say it’s a different world. Their worldview is different, what they are taught and their conditioning. I went to Pathways World School, a brilliant school. The experiences I had there and the kind of people I met really helped me to grow up as a person and give me a mind of my own. But I had my own identity crisis when I went there.

I was in this school where everyone was ultra-rich. I was a kid who was there by the virtue of being the son of a staff member. My mom was a dorm parent. She took that job so that her kids can go to a nice school; because we didn’t have the money. It helped me a lot but also gave me an identity crisis. I was around these people who had everything at the tip of their fingers. I had to steer my way into that world while existing on my own. All these kids would go to parties and sneak out. I would also want to do that but I couldn’t. I couldn’t have a crazy weekend at a club, I didn’t have the money.

It sounds so silly now but I remember I used to be in seventh or eighth grade when there was a very famous lollipop, jolly rancher. It used to be ₹40-45. I would not buy it because I didn’t know how to ask my mom for ₹50. If I start asking for these perks and treats it will get hard on her. One thing leads to another, today it is ₹50, and tomorrow it’ll be ₹500. I think it sort of helped me to come to Bombay and work this hard to reach a certain place.

Even after school, you had to pick up several jobs in Canada. What was the journey like?

The minute I got out of school, life hit me. I was like ‘now what?’ I have to go to college. College how? Paise bharne parenge (I have to pay fees). My sister and mom were in Canada. They thought both will work to try to pay the college bill (of my sister). But of course, it’s not so easy. So, she didn’t end up joining the college. I reached there thinking I will do the same thing. My mom and sister were working for 18 hours in odd jobs. They were living in the tiny basement of someone’s home. I was like ‘okay this is life.’

I got myself a job, mind you, this was working illegally, I had no work permit. If we were caught we were gone. I did whatever I got, cleaning in a grocery shop or setting up the shelves, cutting meat in a meat shop, clearing garbage every night, making pizzas, and cleaning bathrooms. I did all these things for about 4-5 months until my visa was about to end. Then we decided to quit our jobs and booked our flight to India.

Please continue…

There was no backup or anything to lose. We were each other’s support. It was incredibly hard to see my mom do everything for her kid’s dream. She was working in a call centre. Because we had to audition we couldn’t take up jobs. I wonder even now how we ended up doing so much.

Did you feel like quitting at any point during this time?

Ha, a lot of times. I feel that every six months when something unfair happens. But you go on with it because I love it. I don’t know anything else. I don’t have a job that I can take and I definitely don’t want to take up a job in a meat shop again. I get up, work hard on my acting and look for projects just so that I don’t have to go back to a small basement in Canada or any other country.