Jaideep Ahlawat recalls picking up cow dung with his hands in his village; says, 'Now I party on rooftop of 7-star hotels, the arc is simply too huge'

Jaideep Ahlawat

Jaideep Ahlawat recently opened up about his extraordinary journey from a small village in Haryana to the glitzy high-rises of Mumbai. Speaking to MensXP, the actor described his life arc as “too huge”.

He recalled memories of picking up cow dung with his bare hands in childhood and later partying on the rooftop of seven-star hotels after his success in the industry.

Jaideep, who struggled for nearly a decade before breaking through in 2020 with Amazon Prime Video’s Paatal Lok, said he is often struck by the contrast between his modest beginnings and his current life. “I’ve literally lived in a palace, but I’ve also learned swimming by holding a cow’s tail. Village life was wonderful; it was simple, not difficult. We didn’t have a care in the world. There was nobody around to judge you. But it’s a huge change, coming from a village to living in Mumbai. Sometimes I feel that the arc is simply too huge. I’ve seen it all, from picking up cow dung to partying on the rooftop of a seven-star hotel,” he said.

Despite achieving success, Jaideep Ahlawat admitted that human nature often leaves him restless. For 15 years, he lived in a cramped 2BHK flat in Mumbai before finally purchasing his dream home. “When I bought it, my first thought was, ‘Next time I’ll get a bigger one.’ That’s the nature of life — we’re never truly satisfied,” he reflected.

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The actor’s early Mumbai years were equally telling. On The Great Indian Kapil Show, he recalled sharing a one-bedroom flat with up to six people at a time, sleeping in the hall and kitchen together. “We had very little, but there was no sadness. We were happy to just be in the city and chasing our dreams,” he said.

After appearing in Jewel Thief and Paatal Lok Season 2 earlier this year, he is set to feature in Shah Rukh Khan’s much-anticipated King.