What is the secret to become Nawazuddin Siddiqui?

For more than 10 years, Suraj Puri has spent every day of his life serving tea to the thousands of office goers, travellers and passersby in the city. Among the countless conversations he has had with his customers, he has tried to know them personally. Very rarely has the opposite happened. Puri says that he is intrigued by people and tries to get to know them without getting too inquisitive, but cannot recall many instances when people who enjoy his tea wanted to know what he is all about.

“I have a flair for theatre but I have no idea how to get in. I always hope that someday, someone takes notice of me and calls me for auditions or maybe a director asks me what I like and I would respond with ‘acting’”, the 22-year-old tells Metrolife. 

Born and brought up in Inderpuri area of Delhi, Puri’s parents originally hail from Chhapra in Bihar. His father moved to the Capital decades ago and continued doing various jobs until he set up his own tea stall. Puri and his brother Sunny, as children would then help their father out after school.

“We would help him by doing small work like washing the cups, shopping for tea and milk but we never had thought we will take up tea-making as a career,” says Puri who now has a stall in Jhandewalan area where he and brother have put up a stall of their own. This was after their father passed away in 2011.

“We have two more sisters and mother at home and the responsibility of the entire household came upon me and my brother,” Puri said. In the next few years he was forced to drop out of school but he hasn’t stopped dreaming about theatre.

“I used to do some theatre at school and I have always wanted to act, but I never got an opportunity,” Puri says. He has got quite a liking for actors. Among his favourites is Nawazuddin Siddiqui, an actor who rose to prominence after much struggle which included his job as a watchman. Puri idolises Siddiqui and has followed the actor’s career graph very closely.

“His first role that was noticed by audience was of a pickpocketeer in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and now look at him,” he adds. Among his other favourites are Naseeruddin Shah and Manoj Bajpai.

“All the good actors in Bollywood have theatre background. I too want to act in films someday but my true love lies in theatre, the stage. I want to be there,” Puri says before heading to an office with a kettle of tea.