‘I didn’t have a normal childhood’: Vishal Jethwa on losing his father young and seeing his mother work as a maid to support family

Recently, in a conversation with Humans of Bombay, Vishal opened up about his difficult past and the circumstances that shaped him. Reflecting on his upbringing, he said, “I come from a lower-middle-class, or rather a very poor family. I consider this a privilege because it gave me the opportunity to grow, both as an actor and as a person. I closely observed my parents’ lives. I lost my father at a very young age, and I saw how my mother single-handedly raised all of us and struggled to keep us going. I witnessed financial crises. I didn’t have a normal childhood like everyone else, but in some way, that has also helped me grow as an actor.”

Talking further about his early years, Vishal recalled his childhood and education. “I studied in a Gujarati-medium school and lived in Malad. After sixth standard, we shifted to Mira Road. Later, I went to Thakur College in Kandivali, that’s how my childhood went. When I was in the ninth grade, I started working as a background dancer on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs. Once, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Asin came to promote their film London Dreams, and I danced in the background. But after a while, I realised this wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

‘My mother worked as a domestic help,’ says Vishal Jethwa

Opening up about his mother and the challenges she faced while raising him, Vishal Jethwa spoke with visible emotion. “I am very close to my mother because of the struggle and sacrifice she has endured. Even before I start talking about my own journey and everything I have done, I immediately think about what she has done for me. She had a very tough childhood. In that sense, mine was far better because my parents never made me realise what we lacked.”

Elaborating further on her hardships, he added, “Her childhood was such that she worked as a domestic help. She would go from house to house doing cleaning work. When I think about that, I realise, what do I really have to complain about in life?”

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Vishal Jethwa has spoken openly about his family’s struggles in earlier interviews as well. In one such conversation, he revealed, “I come from a very poor family, and I was actually confident because my sister told me before I left, ‘Don’t stress so much, because you are the son of a domestic help.’ She literally cleaned people’s homes, did jhadoo-pocha, and sold sanitary pads in a supermarket. My father sold coconut water, I have seen all of this.”

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He went on to reflect on how his life has changed since then. “Today, of course, my life has moved beyond that. And I don’t even realise how big a thing privilege is. We tend to think privilege is only a positive word, that it only brings benefits. But that’s not true. With privilege comes greater responsibility.”