Rajkummar Rao and Anurag Kashyap come out in support of actor Savi Sidhu, now a watchman

Ever imagined an actor trace back and turn a watchman? It happened in Bollywood. Actor Savi Sidhu, who appeared in movies like Black Friday, Gulaal and Patiala House, was spotted guarding a building. A YouTube channel Film Companion ran an interview with the actor, which has now gone viral.

In the interview, Savi revealed that he had to take a break from movies because of his deteriorating health. Once he stepped back, the actor found it difficult to rejoin the industry and hence had to take up the job of a watchman to serve his financial needs. Savi Sidhu however believes that he would find work once he reaches out to filmmakers. "I'm hopeful that they will give me work. I've received positive response from them before and they will not say no. May be, they are waiting for me. Main aa raha hoon," he said in the interview.

The video of his interview went viral in a jiffy and people thereafter reached out to Anurag Kashyap, who had given the actor a break in Black Friday and Gulaal. The filmmaker wrote a thread of tweets and asked the audiences to support such actors by paying for tickets and watching their films. He went on to praise Savi for choosing work over begging.

Read his tweets here:

There are so many actors out there who don’t have work. I respect Savi Siddhu as an actor and have cast him thrice when he earned the role. I respect him that he chose to live his life with dignity and picked a job unlike so many entitled out of work actors who have either

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) March 19, 2019

2... become alcoholics or wasted themselves away. Nawaz used to be a watchman, I used to be a waiter, I met one actor who sells bhelpuri on streets, I know and actor from Black Friday who drives a rickshaw, the lead from Salaam Bombay used to do the same ..

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) March 19, 2019

3. I have seen the great Uday Chandra who did “Hum Paanch” and “Khel Khiladi Ka” in my early days walking the street. This is also true for many people in all walks of life. This could also be me or anyone else in the future. To give an actor a role out of sympathy is insulting .

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) March 19, 2019

The art and the artist. Savi will have to help himself. Only thing one can do is get the casting directors to audition him for him to earn the role and for that he will have to walk to that casting directors office like million others. He has made a conscious choice and ..

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) March 19, 2019

One should be proud of him that he did not allow the vanity of the artist to destroy him , and he actually does a job . I have writers that I have worked with who are always borrowing money, I have seen filmmaker’s I have admired borrow money from me for a meal..

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) March 19, 2019

To be a watchman is a job, I don’t see it as a small job or big. At least he is not begging . And I genuinely believe that charity does not make art or an artist. There are millions of stories like Savi Siddhu’s.

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) March 19, 2019

You want to help artists like him then you need to start watching their art by paying for it, by actually be a paying audience. Tweeting the story to me won’t help. I have worked with new comers all my life and I move on to the next new talent I can find .

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) March 19, 2019

We all make conscious choices. Go to cinemas and buy tickets for films that has unknown amazing talent like Savi Siddhu to make sure that they continue to be what they are best at, to be the artist they want to be. That’s all I had to say . Thank you

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) March 19, 2019

Not just Kashyap, Rajkummar Rao, who also struggled his way up, was inspired by Sidhu's story and even went on to tell the actor that he would suggest Sidhu's name to his casting friends. "Very inspired by your story, Savi Sidhu sir. Have always admired you work in all your films. Love your positivity. Will definitely ask all my casting friends to reach out to you... Perseverance is the key to overcoming obstacles," tweeted Rao.

Very inspired by ur story #SaviSidhu sir. Have always admired ur work in all ur films. Love ur positivity. Will def ask all my casting friends to reach out to u. Thank u @FilmCompanion for sharing his story. Perseverance is the key to overcoming obstacles. https://t.co/mITl3DsmzF

— Rajkummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) March 19, 2019

In the video, Savi described how despite being an actor, he is struggling to earn basic bread and butter. "It is a 12-hour tough job. It's a mechanical job. I don't even have money to buy bus tickets. To watch a film in theatre is like a dream now. My financial condition is not good," he said in the video.