'Akshay never asked his parents for money'
When I bought a Fiat, he was very excited and would drive it often. Angaar (starring Jackie Shroff and Dimple Kapadia) was being filmed at the time. Its director Shashilal Nair lived in Akshay's building. I would tell Akshay to ask Shashilal Nair for a role, and Akshay would answer, 'main roz jaata hoon lekin kuch kaam nahi banta hai'. He would say that he did not have good pictures. Actually, he was trying to flatter me so that I would shoot his portfolio.
The best part about our friendship was that we never expected anything from each other. I never paid him even though he assisted me for a year. And I did not ask him for money when I did his portfolio.
He went through a poor financial time in those days, but he never asked his parents for money. His father was working in UNICEF then. Akshay did small jobs to meet his expenses -- like he would get clothes and other products from Bangkok and Singapore, and sell them here. He did a photoshoot for a local gym for Rs 500. He would help friends buy and sell flats and took commission in return. That's how he took care of his expenses.
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