In a city like Mumbai, often called Mayanagri, owning a home often feels like a distant dream. But Akshay Kumar, who built himself up from scratch in this city, gave some pearls of wisdom to contestant on Wheel of Fortune that had the crowd in tears. During an episode, Kumar found himself speaking to a contestant, Nikhil, whose simple dream of becoming a homeowner here showed the reality of countless families in the city.
When asked how much he wanted to earn, Nikhil didn’t hesitate to tie his answer to a lifelong wish. “Right now, we live on rent from the very beginning… so we should have a home of our own in Mumbai,” he said. It was a dream that he said ties in with stability – a place to finally call his own.
Kumar listened, and he said something poignant that moved both the contestant and audience. “Dream big. Don’t dream of a small home,” he said.
Even when Nikhil said he would first buy a house if he won one crore, Akshay pushed him to think beyond that.
“I’m telling you, you’re not small. You can win 3 crores or 3 lakhs… but dream big.”
What followed was a glimpse into Akshay’s own journey. He recounted a memory that was his mother’s wisdom that was passed on to him. He recalled how, when he first thought of buying a home, he had set his sights on a modest two-bedroom flat. But his mother had gently refused to let him think small.
“Son, dream big.”
Puzzled at the time, he had questioned her insistence. What was wrong with wanting something simple? Her answer stayed with him.
“You should buy your first home for yourself. For that, God will somehow arrange for the money to make you pay for it. But the second flat, which you take in the name of investment… you have to work very hard on that.”
It was a lesson about ambition, about faith, effort, and in the unseen ways life sometimes supports a sincere dream.
Returning to Nikhil, Akshay didn’t just wish him luck. When asked how many bedrooms he wanted, the modest answer of “one” was quickly met with something bigger.
“How many bedrooms do you want? One bedroom?… 5BHK.”
And then, almost like a blessing:
“I hope, I pray, and I wish that you get a 5-bedroom flat at a very good place, wherever you want.”
In that moment, the Audience was moved to tears. Kumar’s knack of going beyond the mechanics of a game show, and talking about refusing to let circumstances define the size of one’s dreams stayed with everyone. For Nikhil, and for anyone listening, it was a reminder that even in a city where space is limited, aspiration doesn’t have to be.