We all adore Gurafateh Pirzada, who plays Neeraj in Netflix’s Class, but did you know that he once worked as a bathroom cleaner in Canada to support himself?
Before becoming known and famous in the entertainment industry, celebrities worked odd occupations. We all know that Ranveer Singh would work as a copywriter in the advertising sector and that Akshay Kumar would work as a waiter in Bangkok. Yet, did you know that Gurfateh Pirzada, better known by his stage name Neeraj, used to pick up trash and clean restrooms in Canada?
Elite has an official adaption on Netflix called Class. Of course, the vocabulary and storyline have been altered to appeal to an Indian audience with a desi flair. The show premiered on February 3 and has since spread like a viral trend throughout social media channels! Gurfateh, Anjali Sivaraman, Ayesha Kanga, Naina Bhan, and other celebrities have become household names as a result of the millennial generation’s obsession with the topic.
Although Gurafateh Pirzada had previously worked on two other movies, it was Kiara Advani’s Guilty that made him a star. After that, he went on to have a crucial part in Brahmastra. He portrays Neeraj Kumar Valmiki in the film Class, and he has a sizable role to perform. Yet before he entered show business, things weren’t always easy.
Gurfateh Pirzada provided Hindustan Times with details about his early life, “The minute I got out of school, life hit me. I was like ‘now what?’ I have to go to college. College how? Paise bharne parenge (I have to pay fees). My sister and mom were in Canada. They thought both will work to try to pay the college bill (of my sister). But of course, it’s not so easy. So, she didn’t end up joining the college. I reached there thinking I will do the same thing. My mom and sister were working for 18 hours in odd jobs. They were living in the tiny basement of someone’s home. I was like ‘okay this is life’.”
The star further added, “I got myself a job, mind you, this was working illegally, I had no work permit. If we were caught we were gone. I did whatever I got, cleaning in a grocery shop or setting up the shelves, cutting meat in a meat shop, clearing garbage every night, making pizzas, and cleaning bathrooms. I did all these things for about 4-5 months until my visa was about to end. Then we decided to quit our jobs and booked our flight to India.”
