Remember Chapu from Salaam Bombay? His film was once nominated for an Oscar, won a National Award for…, now struggles to make ends meet, works as a…, his name is…
Although Irrfan was not the lead actor in this film but a supporting actor, the soul of this film was a 12-year-old boy, played by Shafiq Syed. He had entered the hearts of the audience as the main character of the film 'Chapu'. Even though the film had the support of big stars Nana Patekar, Raghuveer Yadav, Irrfan Khan, Anita Kanwar, but the whole story of the film revolves around Chapu i.e. Shafiq Syed. Shafiq was awarded the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for this film, which showed the bitter truth of Mumbai's streets through an innocent child's eyes. People thought that Shafiq's luck had shone, and he would emerge as a big name in the cinema world and become the new star of Bollywood.
Away from the glamour, towards the struggles
But the sad thing is that despite the success of this film, Shafiq Syed's life was not what it should have been for a child artist. Neither did he taste financial growth nor did he get many films. Even today he is travelling a journey full of struggle away from glamour. Shafiq was born and brought up in the slums of Bangalore. As a teenager, he ran away with his friends to Mumbai, where he spent his days on the footpath near the railway station. Mira Nair noticed him then and he was cast in 'Salaam Bombay'. For the film, he was paid 20 rupees daily and a vada as lunch. Now he is driving home by auto
After 'Salaam Bombay', Shafiq worked in another Mira Nair film 'Patang' in 1994, but after that he disappeared from the film world. He returned to Bangalore to his family, where he started living a normal life. Today Shafiq Syed drives an auto rickshaw. To feed his family and fulfill their needs, he also works temporarily with small production houses, especially in the Kannada TV industry. In an old interview to the Telegraph, he had said, 'I had to take responsibility of my family. There was no such responsibility in 1987. Now I have the burden of many people on my shoulders.' The battle between family and dreams
Shafiq is the head of a family today. He lives with his wife, mother, three sons and a daughter in a small town 30 km from Bengaluru. He may be remembered for 'Salaam Bombay', but the glamour of films is now far away from his life. In 2008, when 'Slumdog Millionaire' gained international popularity, people remembered 'Salaam Bombay' and Chapu, but by then Shafiq had returned to a normal life, where every day is a struggle for him. Shafiq Syed's story highlights the reality of Indian cinema, where art gets recognition, but the future of an artist is often lost in the fog. This child who once won millions of hearts as Chapu is still looking for a better life.
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