Lilliput moved from Gaya in Bihar to Mumbai in the 1980s. (Photo: Express Archives)Hindi movies aren’t very sensitive when it comes to portraying people who are born with certain differences. Back in the 1980s, the entertainment industry was a much harsher place. So, when MM Faruqui, popularly known as Lilliput, landed in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1980s, he went through many obstacles and rejections before the industry accepted him. Born with the condition of dwarfism, Lilliput spent many nights on the streets of Bombay, starved himself and lived on bare minimum before he started getting opportunities because of his talent.In a recent interview with Red FM Podcasts, Lilliput recalled that he was living in his hometown of Gaya in Bihar when one of his friends suggested that he should try his luck in Bombay as an actor. He shared that he did some theatre in Gaya and he was often called the “best” in the city so when his friend told him, “Aap Bombay aaiye. Aap Bombay aayenge toh chaa jayenge (Come to Bombay. You will be so famous if you come to Bombay),” Lilliput wondered if he could actually leave.“I came from a very poor family. We didn’t even have any money to take a rickshaw within the city. How could I imagine even going to Bombay?” but just as he was pondering about this, a friend of his, who wanted him to be the next Mehmood, gave him Rs 150 to get to Bombay. “I never even thought where I would live, what I would eat because I had no financial support from my family,” he said. He added that while his family was upset about his condition, they never made him feel like an outcast, even though the society wasn’t as kind. “People in my house were upset because of my condition but they never rejected me,” he said. Liliput wth late actor Irrfan Khan. (Photo: Express Archives)ALSO READ | Dhadak 2: Shazia Iqbal destroys ancient Bollywood Dharma in the best Karan Johar production since JigraLife was not as rosy as he had imagined in Bombay. “After coming here, I starved, slept in the streets,” he said and recalled the time when he only had one set of clothes, and he would get to take a shower and wash his clothes only once a week. “I had one set of clothes and once a week, I would go to a public washroom to take a shower. I would wash my clothes there and then I would wear those wet clothes and walk out. The clothes would dry in the sun when I was wearing them,” he said.Lilliput said that while he started getting some work at Prithvi theatre, he still wasn’t making enough money to live a comfortable life. It was during this time that he met many folks in the industry who made him feel lesser. He recalled that one of the assistants of director Basu Chatterjee told him bluntly that he would never make it. “He really demoralised me. I don’t think it was his intention to demoralise me but he thought that he was being honest and trying to help me by telling me some harsh things. He said you are a good actor but no one will give you any work in the movies. You won’t get work as the hero’s brother, or any other significant role. He said, ‘Cinema mein nahi chalta (Won’t work in the movies.)” The man was rejecting Lilliput on the basis of his height and this really hurt him. “I was hurt and disappointed but it didn’t break me. I was sleeping in the streets then but I had not lost hope,” he said. Lilliput (left) on the set of Dekh Bhai Dekh. (Photo: Express Archives)ALSO READ | Bollywood producer lost his mansion and business, was homeless in Mumbai; made biggest film of Amitabh Bachchan’s careerStory continues below this adIt wasn’t just Bollywood people who made him feel lesser. For a big part of his life, Lilliput faced social rejection because of his height, and his first heartbreak was a result of the same. He recalled that when he first fell in love with a woman back in Gaya, he felt inferior because he was getting rejected by those around him. “There was a girl I was in love with. My foot got twisted when I was a child and in those days, one would get rejected by the society if something like that happened. But I was in love. I felt inferior because she was so beautiful. I believed she wouldn’t accept me, and the society was already rejecting me,” he recalled.Lilliput believed that after his foot surgery, his height would increase but when the doctor informed his family that this wouldn’t happen, it broke his heart. “I felt that after I got a surgery, my foot would get fixed, and my height would increase, I will tell her about my feelings for her. But just before the operation in the hospital, the doctor told my father that the foot will get fixed but the height won’t increase, and I overheard that. At that moment, I decided that I can’t be in love so I ended my feelings right there. That pain persisted though,” he said.Lilliput went on to become one of the most recognisable faces on Indian television with his shows like Zabaan Sambhalke, Woh among others. He also wrote for shows like Dekh Bhai Dekh. He was last seen in Prime Video’s Mirzapur.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:bollywoodbollywood news