The first thing you’ll probably notice about Parzaan Dastur is that he doesn’t wear a turban. That often comes as a surprise to many, given that the Mumbai-based actor, writer and producer shot to fame for playing a little Sikh kid in the iconic 1998 Bollywood movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
At the age of six, Dastur was widely adored and applauded for his role as the silent little kid, who stole the scene and the audience’s hearts by convincingly delivering his tearful single line in the film: “Tussi ja rahe ho? Tussi na jao. (Are you leaving? Please don’t leave).”
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“Even after [more than] 20 years of the movie, that line is still a meme,” Dastur, now 30, told VICE over a video call. His catchphrase has been wielded by Indians over the years in various contexts, be it a legendary cricketer retiring, a beloved colleague on their last day at work, or when someone is hopping on a jet plane or just moving away.
“I think people could relate to this emotion because the core of that scene is about two people who rekindle their love and friendship after so many years.”
Dastur’s dialogue came at a pivotal moment in the film’s plot, as the two lead characters Rahul and Anjali – formerly best friends who’d parted ways after Rahul didn’t reciprocate Anjali’s feelings and married another woman – crossed paths once again. “There’s a hope for a second chance, and then she [Anjali] starts to leave. Then, my character (a kid attending a summer camp with the lead character’s daughter), who has been silent throughout the film, uses this one line when it matters the most. It’s the perfect buildup.”
The film went on to become a cult classic, emerging as the highest grossing Bollywood film until the early 2000s and defining romance for an entire generation of millennials – even though it has often been criticised for its male gaze and misogynistic ideas of femininity and beauty.
Starring alongside major leaguers including Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) and Kajol, Dastur’s single on-screen moment catapulted him into becoming one of the most recognisable child actors of the ‘90s.
“It was like a wonderland for me, especially because I was a kid who came from a simple family,” he said. “Sana Saeed (one of the protagonists who was also a child actor) and I were the centre of attention [on set], and we got so much love from our favourite stars like SRK and Kajol. I still remember how excited SRK got when he realised that we shared the same birthday. And Kajol and I would often go for morning walks together.”
Before the film, Dastur had appeared in several ads, most notably when, as a 4-year-old, he did an ad for Dhara oil which dubbed him the “Jalebi boy” for portraying a child who runs away from home, only to return for his mother’s jalebis (an Indian dessert).
But his role in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai cemented him as a crowd favourite. “After the movie came out, I got mobbed in the middle of the road many times. I still remember walking home one day when, all of a sudden, I was surrounded by a crowd of college girls, all of whom wanted to pull my cheeks. And till date, I have people who ask me how many stars I counted,” he said, referring to a famous scene in the film where Dastur’s character is quietly counting and recounting stars at a summer camp.
Following the film’s success, several other offers came pouring in for the young Dastur, including a small role in the film Mohabbatein, which, along with SRK, starred another industry heavyweight: Amitabh Bachchan. “I still remember the film muhurata (an auspicious time to start or to do something, in this case a ceremony before the film shoot kicks off),” he said. “Amitabh Bachchan came over and said that he was my biggest fan. That’s when my dad, who’s [idolised] Mr Bachchan and his films for years, grabbed the opportunity to tell him that he was his biggest fan.”
Dastur’s childhood was filled with brief forays into the world of cinema, with the actor also experimenting with voiceovers for animated films, including the Bollywood film Hum Tum. “My parents always kept a balance between my work and my school,” Dastur said. Even though he had been acting since before he started pre-school, Dastur’s parents urged him to prioritise his education and look at acting as a hobby. “My dad is an accountant and my mom works at a bank, so they were far [removed] from the film world,” he explained. “In the ‘90s, there were rumours about the film industry not being safe for kids or women, and there were concerns that some people in my extended family would not be open-minded. But, in the end, my family was supportive.”
As he grew older, Dastur’s passion for acting persisted, pushing him to take on more complex and mature roles as he played bigger parts in films like Parzania and Sikandar. “Until that point, I barely had any dialogues in films,” he said. “I used to do dubbing and sing jingles for ads, but it was these films that brought out my acting prowess and showed me how to step out of myself and perform as someone else.”
Having practically grown up in the industry he’s joined since he was 4, Dastur was keen to continue his career in acting. However, as he entered adolescence, things began to change. “My moustache began to grow, I wasn’t that attractive-looking anymore, and things began to simmer down,” he stated. “That’s when I decided to take a break and focus on my college life, especially since I didn’t have the best time in school growing up.”
Despite being one of the most famous kids in India, Dastur found it difficult to fit into his school and was often bullied by his classmates. “But my experience in college was completely different,” he said. “I had the best time and made lifelong friends, so I took a break from the industry for five years.”
When he finally decided to return to the film set, he realised he could get more opportunities on the other side of the camera, and started working as a director’s assistant on films like Student of The Year and Gori Tere Pyaar Mein.
“One day, on the set of Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, the film’s director Puneet Malhotra said he needed ideas on how to fill in a particular choreography sequence,” he said. “I came up with an idea that since the scene was taking place in a village, we could show an evening of folk music in the village, which could [transition] into the song where they dance together. He liked my idea so much that he used it in the film.”
That’s when the idea of dabbling in writing first struck Dastur. “I had worked as a copywriter during an internship with an advertising agency in college, so I always had the interest,” he said. Malhotra also took Dastur on board for another film he was working on called Gutka, where he understood more about the writing process. “That’s when the germ for writing started, and I haven’t stopped since.”
Though Gutka never saw a release, his learnings from the writers’ room inspired him to write his own screenplay. After weeks of toiling over his first script, Dastur approached filmmaker and friend Nitesh Ranglani, who instantly loved it. This script culminated in a short film called Pocket Mummy starring Madhoo, a renowned Indian actor.
Today, Dastur is the co-founder of his own content production company called Ten Colour Productions. He is also married to Delna Shroff, a college classmate whom he fell for immediately after bumping into her at a Parsi event a decade after they’d lost touch. “It’s actually quite a filmy story,” he said, adding that his fans often drew parallels to the story of the lovers in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
“I feel like I found some stability in my life because I have a partner who is on the same wavelength, a successful production company and a career in something I love doing: writing,” he said.
However, Dastur added, there are moments when he wonders whether he could ever make it as a mainstream actor in Bollywood.
“As a child actor, you never really feel under pressure,” he said. “The pressure starts after you’re 18, and builds up until you get a role you’re satisfied with. I wanted to pursue acting, but it just didn’t take off the way I wanted it to. It did make me spiral and question my self-worth and where I’m going with my life, which took many years to get over. Even today, it hasn’t completely gone.”
But while his childhood dream of becoming a famous actor hasn’t yet materialised, Dastur remains hopeful and continues to audition for roles. “Having been on the other side of production now, I understand that sometimes, a director has a clear vision that you as an actor may not fit into,” he said. “Bollywood is also such a competitive space, with everyone vying for a role. I just hope that people can remember me as a person who told good stories at the end of the day.”
