Happy Birthday Rajpal Yadav: Lesser known facts about Bollywood's funny man

Rajpal Yadav’s impeccable comic timing, dialogue delivery, punch lines, and expressions have helped him carve a niche for himself in the industry. Despite being part of an ensemble cast in several films, the actor never fails to wow the audience with every character that he essays onscreen. On the actor's 50th birthday, let us look at some lesser-known facts about him...

Rajpal Yadav was born on March 16, 1971, in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. As a child, he faced several difficulties. In an interview, Rajpal had once mentioned that his father wanted him to become a 'big man' by getting educated due to his house’s poor economic condition. Hence, he ensured that Rajpal got admission to a city school. However, Rajpal and his elder brother commuted from the village to the city in a truck. There were times when he didn’t have money, and his older brother had just one rupee.

In an interview, the actor revealed how he has once taken a rupee from his elder brother to buy a lottery ticket. His brother scolded him when he found out, but the next day, he found out that the lottery won him Rs 65 sixty-five. He gave his brother fifty rupees, bought ten more tickets, and kept five rupees for himself. Rajpal, who had never got money for himself, felt like a king with the money saved.

He began his acting career with negative roles and even won an award for his grey turn in ‘Jungle’ in 2000. But he soon realised that comedy was his forte. In no time, filmmakers were floored over by his comic timing and started offering him comic roles. He has been part of films like ‘Chup Chup Ke’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, ‘Partner’, ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’, ‘Garam Masala’, ‘Malamaal Weekly’, ‘Dhol’, ‘Judwaa 2’ and the recent ‘Coolie No. 1’.

Rajpal has acted in the Hollywood film ‘Bhopal: A Prayer For Rain’ that released in 2014. He starred opposite veterans like Marteen Sheen.

As per a news portal, Rajpal married Radha Yadav in 2003. He had met her in Canada when he was shooting for a film. She is nine years younger than him and one inch taller than him, but they didn't let these factors stop them from marrying. They have a daughter.