Meet actor who carries his own chair to sets, paid Rs 442 for two bananas at hotel, worked with Kamal Haasan, turned director and is a great sportsman

Pink Villa

3 days ago

Imagine spending Rs 442.50 on just two bananas! Sounds weird? Well, this was the actor's bill at a Chandigarh hotel. He is the one who played double roles of an actor and a sportsman on the stage of his life. Can't guess yet? We are talking about Rahul Bose, an incredible talent who is often called an 'underrated gem'. Let's take a look at his inspiring life and career in films and sports.
Rahul Bose's first live stage performance and the beginning of his acting career
Born on July 27, 1967, to a Bengali-Punjabi family, Rahul Bose studied at The Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai. He encountered his first live stage performance at the age of six in a school play, Tom, the Piper's son, where he essayed the lead role.
Rahul began his acting career by doing theater in Mumbai. Once, a casting director suggested his name to Bengali director Dev Benegal for the lead role in his movie, English, August. The movie received immense critical acclaim and several international awards at film festivals. Interestingly, it was the first Indian movie that was bought by a Hollywood studio, 20th Century Fox.
Rahul Bose's rich body of work: Balancing art with mainstream cinema
The actor kept on impressing the audience with his performances in Naseeruddin Shah 's Bombay Boys, and Ajay Devgn's Thakshak, apart from several English and Hindi artsy projects. Further, he made his directorial debut in 2001 with a movie titled Everybody says I'm fine!
Bose starred in Aparna Sen's Mr and Mrs. Iyer, co-starring Konkona. The movie won many accolades including three national awards. And since then, Rahul Bose has never looked back. He has always maintained a great balance between parallel and mainstream cinema.
He worked with great actors like Kamal Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Kay Kay Menon, and many others. Some of his notable works are- Jhankaar Beats, Ek Din 24 Ghante, Mumbai Matinee, Chameli, Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii, Shaurya, Antaheen, The Japanese Wife, Dil Dhadakne Do, Bulbbul, Berlin, Amaran, and many more.
He returned to direction with Poorna: Courage has no limits, in 2017, and is currently developing the script for his next directorial.
Why does Rahul Bose carry his own chair on film sets?
In an interview with ANI, the talented actor revealed that he was not given the respect on the sets in his initial years. Though everyone would have a chair to sit on, he had to ask every time for it, which was utterly awkward. Eventually, he stopped asking and used to sit on a stone, parapet, floor, or any other object.
Rahul Bose finally took a stand and bought his own chair that was worth Rs 10,000, which was a whopping figure back in the '90s. The actor carries the same chair till today on the film sets.
Rahul Bose's inspiring sports career: From breaking nose to President of Rugby India
He was very active in sports from his school days. His mother introduced him to boxing and Rugby while his father wanted him to play cricket.
Rahul revealed in an interview that he was a very naughty boy in childhood and was a great sporty back then. He mentioned that attention from girls was one of the reasons behind his interest in sports. Rahul reminisced about an incident when he broke his nose and all the prettiest girls of school came to see him in the hospital.
Bose credits sports with instilling discipline, determination, and focus in him. He represented India in the first International event for men's rugby teams in 1998, the Asian Rugby Football Union Championship. He was active in Rugby for over 11 years until 2009, when he decided not to return to the field. However, he carried on advocating for the sport. Currently, he serves as the President of Rugby India.
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