“Make sure your love is reciprocated.”

Akash Thosar Actor, 28

After catapulting to fame as the lead in Marathi blockbuster Sairat, Akash Thosar worked with Amitabh Bachchan in Jhund. “My father showed me the Jumma Chumma song when I was a kid. I didn’t know Amitji’s name, so I would refer to him as ‘Chumma’. My family still calls him that. Working with him was a dream come true for my father and me, but I couldn’t tell him that we call him ‘Chumma’,” he laughs.

Brought up in Pune, Akash planned to join the Army or police force after class 10, and so, wanted to pursue a sport. “I stayed at a wrestling centre in Sholapur for six years and learnt how to wrestle,” he reveals. But, he was spotted at a railway station while waiting after having missed the train, and his career started. “That’s why I believe whatever happens, happens for the best,” he smiles.

Sairat transformed Akahs’s life, though.

“My world changed in a single day,” marvels the actor. Now hungry for challenges, his next film Ghar Banduk Biryani will see him reunite with Sairat director Nagraj Manjule. “Audiences don’t treat me like a hero, but like one of their own. I like that.” —Dinesh Raheja

List three things nobody knows about you. I’ve kept them secret for a reason! I’m listing things people should know about me:

1. I’m a fitness freak. I go to the gym, I exercise at home and I exercise at the akhada. 2. I’m fond of eating, irrespective of the cuisine. Having to follow a diet is difficult but I have no choice.

3. I love playing games. If you leave me with kids, I will play with them like I’m a child too.

Your guilty pleasure?

Every fortnight, I have a cheat day and I overeat and feel guilty. Then, it’s back to gajjak laddoos!

How do you react if somebody cheats you?

I ignore it and forgive. We’ve all got one life, so, let’s talk to each other with respect and love. People get so caught up in the daily rush of achieving their goals that they forget that we all have to leave this world one day.

A relationship rule that you always follow?

Make sure that your love is reciprocated.

One health shot you swear by?

Milk. Give me anything with dairy products, and I’m happy. Yet, strangely, I start my day with black coffee! (laughs)

A dog-person, Akash Thosar poses with a pupper who walked by the studio during the shoot for this HT Brunch column In Bed With is a weekly column that puts personal questions to your favourite stars, and serves you a reminder: after Brunch on Sundays, it’s time to go back to bed! Location: Atrangz Studio Outfit by Avinash Bamania; Jewellery by Neetu Singh