Sanjay Mishra, who despised Indian education system, preferred working at a construction site than going to school. His dual life came to an end when his father visited the same construction site he worked at along with late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Sanjay Mishra in a still from his 2018 film Kaamyaab.

Sanjay Mishra has portrayed numerous intriguing characters throughout his illustrious career, but his real-life story is as cinematic as they come. The actor has frequently voiced his disapproval of the Indian education system, recounting how he struggled academically and even found himself attending school at the age of nineteen. Sanjay often skipped school because he had little interest in the conventional curriculum, which failed to appreciate his creative side.

Despite his disdain for formal education, Sanjay’s father held a high-ranking position in the Press Information Bureau and valued education highly. He pushed Sanjay to complete his studies. To comply with his father’s wishes, Sanjay would leave home ostensibly for school but would secretly head to a construction site, where he took on menial jobs. However, his double life came to an end when his father caught him in the act during a visit to the same construction site with the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

In a captivating interview with Neelesh Misra, Sanjay recounted this fascinating chapter of his life, saying, “I used to leave home for school, but instead, I would head to Talkatora Garden. It was there that I met a man who had previously worked as a house help at our home and had since become a contractor. I said to him, ‘I’ll come to you every day between 9 am and 4:30 pm, and during that time, you can employ me for any kind of work. Keep in mind, I was essentially asking for a job from my own servant. I asked him to give me a job in return of five rupees.”

Describing the moment his father discovered him at the construction site, Sanjay said in Hindi, “I spent my days shaping iron rods. I would change out of my school uniform and wrap a towel around my waist before starting work. During this time, my father held a high position at the Press Information Bureau, often interacting with prominent journalists and even traveling with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. One day, while I was supposed to be at school but was instead working at a construction site, a hand touched my shoulder. I turned around, and it was my father. He said to me, ‘Kya bhai, baap Pradhan Mantri ke sath aaya hai aur beta sariya mode raha hai. Aacha grow kar rahe ho (Your father has come with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and you are shaping iron rods. You’re really growing’). On that day, my father was accompanying Rajiv Gandhi as they inspected the venues for the Asian Games preparation in 1982, and I happened to be working at one of those venues.”