We still can’t enter temples: Vinod Suryavanshi on caste discrimination in Karnataka

"On the work front Vinod Suryavanshi has appeared in projects such as Janaawar, Thamma, Satyameva Jayate, and Jolly LLB 3, among others, gradually carving a space for himself in the industry. He had a brief appearance in Panchayat."

"I first worked as a liftman, earning Rs 1,600 a month. Then I worked as an office boy at a construction office, and later as a security guard. It was a 12-hour standing duty. During rains, water would get into my shoes, I’d get blisters, and sometimes people would abuse me. I had to endure a lot. People say no work is small, but I’ve learned that a person is judged by the level of work they do—the bigger the work, the more respect they get."

"My mother worked as a domestic help, and my father was a mason. He didn’t get work every day, and when he didn’t, he would come home drunk. He would abuse and even hit my mother. I grew up watching all this, and it felt terrible. I didn’t hate him, but I didn’t like his behaviour."

"Festivals made us cry more because we could never celebrate them like others." He added that their condition was very bad, and if someone gave them something, only then could they celebrate—that was their reality.

Once, when I went to the village with my father, I was 12 years old and ate at a hotel, we had to wash our own plates and also pay for the food. There is still a temple where we are not allowed to go in my village.

In my village in Karnataka, casteism is still prevalent, even today. There are two areas in that village — one for the upper castes and one for the lower castes. The area where the Dalits live is separate from the village. There is still a temple where we are not allowed to go in my village.