Rajiv Thakur recalls ‘painful memories’ of growing up in poverty: ‘Felt like our home was a public toilet’

Comedian Rajiv Thakur shared his challenging childhood marked by poverty. He recalled cramped living conditions and his father's unemployment.

Comedian and actor Rajiv Thakur is known today for making audiences laugh with his comic timing. However, behind the laughter lies a childhood marked by extreme financial hardship. In a recent conversation with Vaibhav Munjal on his podcast, Rajiv opened up about growing up in poverty and recalled how cramped and difficult their living conditions were, saying their home often "felt like a public toilet".

Rajiv Thakur recalls growing up in poverty.

Rajiv Thakur recalls growing up in poverty

Talking about his life journey, Rajiv revealed that it began in circumstances he still finds difficult to revisit. He said people often advise comedians to turn their pain into stand-up material, but whenever he does that, the memories are so overwhelming that he ends up crying backstage after his performance.

Rajiv said he rarely speaks about his early struggles and shared, "It was just like those old Hindi films. After my parents got married, my father was thrown out of the family home. Overnight, they went from living in a comfortable house to a single-room home. That one room was our bedroom, living room, kitchen and even our bathroom. Three children were born and raised there. If one person was bathing, the other four had to wait outside. I used to feel like our home was a public toilet."

He further revealed that his father was unemployed, leaving the family unable to pay even the rent. "There was only one 40-watt bulb in the room. I hated yellow light because I'd never seen a tube light. Whenever I visited someone's house and saw white light, I'd wonder when we'd ever have one in our home. The landlord would switch off the light at 9 pm because electricity was included in the rent. After that, we either had to sleep or sit with an oil lamp. We lived on the third floor without a lift, so we had to carry buckets of water upstairs every day. My mother stitched clothes to support the family, and she would deliver them to customers and collect them later," Rajiv recalled.

About Rajiv Thakur

Rajiv Thakur is an Indian comedian, actor and television personality best known for his comic timing and his long association with comedy shows. He rose to prominence with The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and later became a household name through shows such as Comedy Circus and The Kapil Sharma Show, where his performances and comic characters earned him widespread popularity. Apart from television, Rajiv has also appeared in Punjabi and Hindi projects including Lahoriye and the Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.