Yash is currently in the spotlight with his most ambitious film yet, Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups, which is just days away from hitting the big screen. Since his breakthrough with KGF in 2018, the actor has carved out a special place for himself in the Indian film industry. Now, with his association with Nitesh Tiwari’s magnum opus Ramayana—not just as an actor but also as a producer on the reported Rs 4,000-crore project—all eyes are on the 40-year-old star. But, did you know long before he became a successful actor, Yash, born Naveen Gowda, ran a provision store while his father worked as a bus driver and earned as little as Rs 14 a day?Recently, speaking on Aap Ki Adalat, the actor opened up about his humble beginnings and how he was embarrassed to accept his reality. “My parents could never build any assets for us, but the sacrifices they did to teach us life values… I am grateful for that. They always believed in me and gave me everything I needed,” he said.When Yash ran a provision storeHowever, there was a time when Yash began feeling that what he had was not enough. “Until school life, I never felt any difference between other kids and myself in terms of status, money. It was when I started going to college, I started to see the difference. Everybody in the college had their own bikes and cars. They had good clothes to wear. All I had was my father’s old scooter.”Yash admitted that he felt embarrassed riding the old scooter while his friends had expensive bikes.“I had even started a provision store back then to support my family. I used to feel extremely embarrassed to ride the old scooter. Sometimes, when I had to stock up the store, I had to travel on that scooter. I used to feel inferiority complex and would often think that nobody should see me like this. I used to be insecure about being seen like that by my friends.”With time, however, Yash’s perspective changed.“But luckily, that thought in me changed. I realised that it is not the materialistic things that brings you respect but the attitude within you and the determination to work hard. Eventually these things will bring everything you want.”ALSO READ | Kamal Amrohi’s wife learnt from magazine he’d married Meena Kumari: ‘She took off bangles’Story continues below this adYash eventually bought a bike, but by then, it was no longer about seeking validation from others.When Yash slept on streetsThere was another experience that strengthened his resolve to make it big. At one point, Yash became homeless and had to sleep at a bus stand. Determined to change his circumstances, he decided he would not stop until he became a star.His journey began with small roles in 2004, including a television show where he starred opposite his now-wife, Radhika Pandit. Years later, Yash recalled how, as a newcomer in the television industry, journalists would often overlook him in favour of more popular actors.Speaking to Suvarna News in a 2012 interview, Yash said: “There was a time when these news channels used to do shows with tv actors from the sets of their daily soaps. This one time, they came and spoke to every artist but me. That day I felt really bad. I thought to myself: ‘Did they do this because I am not so popular or big yet?’ That day, I decided that I will become so big that the same people will want to speak with me. I was walking around them, and yet they ignored me. You won’t believe me, a few years later, the same person called me multiple times requesting for an interview. Eventually, he had to wait for three days to get my time. Not that I did that on purpose, but I had gotten so busy because of other commitments.”Story continues below this adToxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups is set to hit theatres on August 26, while Ramayana is scheduled to release around Diwali this year.