Jitendra Kumar Recalls Living In A Jungle 'Jhopdi', Working For Rs 40 'Dihaadi': 'Was 11 Yrs Old And Would...'

Actor Jitendra Kumar became a household name after starring as Jeetu Bhaiya in Kota Factory and Sachivji in Panchayat. While he is a successful actor now, he comes from humble beginnings and recently recalled living in a hut in a jungle when he was a child. In an interview with Cyrus Broacha, he was asked if he remembers his first-ever house. The actor said he was born in Khairthal, Alwar, Rajasthan and lived in a hut in a jungle.

“We had a hut in a jungle. Our joint family would live there. We had one pakka makaan and one jhopdi. I have a very vivid memory of sleeping there and feeling strange. It was a very brief period. My uncle and father are civil engineers–so am I–and they quickly made two more rooms. So, we lived in a hut for six-seven months, after which the construction began,” he revealed.

He said that during his summer holidays, he would pick up daily wage jobs. “Often during summer holidays, I would work for dihaadi along with painters, and carpenters. I would work for Rs 40 a day. Then, when my father would know, he would scold me. I was around 11-12 years old and would assist the workers! So, I have seen the process of a house getting built from scratch and been a part of that too,” he added.

The actor went on to graduate in Civil Engineering from IIT Kharagpur. He then starred as coaching teacher Jeetu Bhaiya in Kota Factory and won hearts. His character resonated with many IIT aspirants across the country, who hailed Jitendra as their own real-life professor.

“The only thing that I’m able to decode from the love this show and this character has received is that we have very few mentor figures. Either there isn’t the right kind of mentorship or it is completely unavailable so much so that people feel alone,” he once told PTI. “As humans, we are social and we have a need to express ourselves and we need support, a lot. At times, we make friends who are in the same competition and that’s why we are not able to share certain things with them… that’s why people have related with this fictional character of Jeetu bhaiya,” Jitendra said.