Omkar Das Manikpuri's journey to Peepli Live

Omkar Das Manikpuri, a villager from the most humble background, shot to fame overnight as Natha in Peepli Live. The present focus of the media buzz, Omkar is a diehard fan of Katrina Kaif. The man of the moment, Natha has made it big in the movie that has struck the box office with a rage.

In real life, Omkar"s father is a daily laborer at Bhilai steel plant. Born in a remote village in the district of Durg, Chhatisgarh, Manikpuri is from a very poor family which is laden with miseries. He left school when he was in class two. After they shifted to Bhilai in 1981, he resumed his studies from class one when he was eleven years old. Being teased by his younger classmates, he dropped the school again after class six.

He was burdened with the responsibility of earning bread and butter for his family, when he was young. He has sold vegetables, worked in shops and fields as well. He got married in 1987 and fathered a child two years after the marriage.

Later, Manikpuri formed a local dance group and started singing the folk songs and traditional dance of the area. He also acted Sun Bairi, a Habib Tanvir"s play at a workshop. Impressed by his acting, the veteran director asked him to enter his theatre troupe. At Tanvir"s Naya Theatre, he would have been paid around 3,000 to 8,000 INR monthly.

However, Omkar aka Natha bagged INR 2,00,000 for his role in Peepli Live. The movie is doing rounds in international film festivals. After Peepli Live, Omkar is looking forward to a better and brighter future.