# From Fear of Failing His Board Exam to the Big Screen: Raghubir Yadav on Running Away From Home and Surviving on Two-and-a-Half Rupees a Day

> In an interview, Raghubir Yadav recalled fleeing home out of fear of failing his exam, joining a theatre group in Lalitpur and getting by on two-and-a-half rupees a day—until a relative's taunt redirected the course of his life.

**Category:** Bollywood · **Published:** 2026-06-13 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/bollywood/borda-men-phela-hone-ke-dara-ne-raghubira-yadava-ko-banaya-ghara-se-bhaga-kalaka-370

Younger audiences may know Raghubir Yadav best as the Pradhan in the hit series ‘Panchayat,’ but the actor's real story lies in decades of effort carried out under brutally tight circumstances. In a recent conversation, the seasoned performer opened up about the period when the dread of a single exam carried him far from home—and, in the process, onto the path that led to cinema.

## The exam fear that sent him running
Yadav recalls that, in the name of a secure future, he was under enormous pressure to study science. Yet he had already convinced himself that he would not clear his board examination. Once that sense of failure hardened into certainty, he took a drastic step: terrified of the result, he left home with a friend and, after wandering about, ended up in Lalitpur.

## A theatre group in Lalitpur and a wage of two-and-a-half rupees
At the time, a theatre company run by the father of actor Annu Kapoor was staging plays in Lalitpur. This is where Yadav's journey in acting began. Annu Kapoor's father, Madanlal Kapoor, gave him a place in the company, where his daily wage was fixed at two-and-a-half rupees. Even that meagre sum, however, rarely arrived on time or in full.

Looking back at those days, he said, ‘Two-and-a-half rupees a day was agreed, but sometimes we got even less than that. With just that money we would buy flour and tomatoes, then make chutney and rotis to fill our stomachs.’ Things were so hard that, more than once, someone would steal the food he had cooked, leaving him to sleep on an empty stomach.

## Two decades away from home, yet no complaints
In his fight to find a foothold in films, Yadav stayed away from home for close to 20 years and spent many nights hungry. Even so, he holds no bitterness or resentment about that phase. On the contrary, he regards those very years as the strong foundation of his career, crediting them for shaping and refining his understanding of cinema and acting. It was during this time that he learned Urdu and polished the way he pronounced his words.

Speaking about his craft, he said, ‘Acting isn't easy, but there's a lot of joy in it. People call it a struggle, but I never thought of my life as a struggle. I simply worked hard and enjoyed the entire journey.’

## A letter to his father, and a taunt that changed everything
After leaving home, Yadav had written a letter to his father, promising that he would never do anything that might bring disgrace upon the family name. He did return home after about six months—but a relative's jibe turned the direction of his life once again.

He recalled, ‘When I reached the village, my uncle's son said that we had assumed you would now appear directly on the cinema screen. It stung me so deeply and embarrassed me so much that I left home again that very night.’ After that single incident, he did not return to his village for the next 20 years.

## Recognition on screen and a household name
Over the years, Raghubir Yadav has been most admired for his powerful work in films such as ‘Salaam Bombay,’ ‘Lagaan,’ ‘Peepli Live,’ ‘Piku’ and ‘Newton.’ His true household recognition, however, came in 1989 with the Doordarshan hit show ‘Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne,’ after which he became a favourite among viewers.

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