Meet actress who debuted at 14 with Mammootty, lived in chawl even after Bollywood debut, faced 100 rejections, is now..

Achieving success in the competitive industry with more and more talents trying to make their place, is not easy and many actors like Jackie Shroff, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Shah Rukh Khan have proved time and again that even the outsiders can survive in the industry. One such actress who has starred in several hits, spent 25 years of her life in chawl. 

The actress we are talking about made her debut with a superstar and also worked with Rajkumar Hirani in two hit films and even after her Bollywood debut, she stayed in a chawl. She is none other than Priya Bapat. 

Priya Bapat is an Indian actress who made her debut with the movie Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar alongside Mammootty at the age of 14. She then later worked with Rajkummar Hirani in his hit films like Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. The movie was a blockbuster in 2003 and also starred Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, and Sunil Dutt among others. She also had a small appearance in Lage Raho Munna Bhai. The actress once revealed in an interview that even after her Bollywood debut she lived in a chawl located at Ranade Road, Dadar. 

The actress once told in an interview with Times of India that she spent her childhood to her marriage, 25 years of her life in a chawl. She said, "I have spent almost 25 years of my life in that chawl. Till I got married I stayed there. From celebrating Diwali together to playing games with my friends during childhood days, this chawl has given me a lot of memories." 

She further added, "The specialty of this chawl was, that all the houses on a floor were connected to each other internally through doors. So it was easily possible to go from one house to another without getting out of the house. This system kept all the families on the floor connected to each other. Also, I feel that nowadays, the apartment system has created distance between people.” When asked what she likes more, a luxurious apartment or a chawl, the actress replied, “It depends on the needs of a person. The needs change with the development. I now stay in a luxurious apartment but still, chawl is my first love.”

Well, the actress who is now one of the highest-paid Marathi actresses reportedly charging Rs 8 lakh per film, her journey has not been a walk of cake. The actress once revealed in an interview with Bollywood Hungama that she faced the camera when she was in 6th standard and got her first pay cheque. Not only this, the actress revealed that before getting her first ever TV advertisement, she had to face 100 rejections. 

Throughout her career, she has worked in several films like Kaksparsh, Aamhi Doghi, Timepass 2, and more and has also starred in TV shows and web series like Rafuchakkar and City of Dreams among others. She will now be seen in the movie Visfot starring Fardeen Khan and Ritesh Deshmukh along with others. The film is scheduled to be released this year.