Bike taxi driver chased his dream after losing job in Covid. It wasn't enough

The story of a bike-taxi driver from Bengaluru who is also an award-winning creative director before losing his job at a Chinese company during the Covid-19 pandemic is being widely shared on social media. But what drew the netizens’ attention, besides his ordeal, is how a Twitter user found out that both of them once shared the same co-working space.

The user named Parag Jain shared the experience that he described as a peak Bengaluru moment but a mixed one. He wrote “Had Mixed @Peakbengaluru movement. A Rapido rider came to pick us up at WeWork. During the ride, he asked me ‘On which floor are you working?’ After giving him an Intro, asked if he has been in wework, he replied ‘Sir, Two years back I use to work in the same building’(Sic)”

Writing further about the rider, the user said the Rapido driving partner had been fired from his job during the pandemic. “He used to work in the operations team of a Chinese company but due to the China Apps ban lost his job in March 2020. He couldn’t find any other job due to the COVID situation. Thought of working on his longtime passion for directing films,” wrote Parag.

The series went on to win in 15 film festivals, but did not yield enough money for survival. Parag further wrote “Created a Mini-series by investing all savings. Series got a great response and won around 15 Film Fests. Received interest from OTT but rejected it due to commercial issues. A project couldn’t fetch any money. After all efforts and being financially broke for the last 2 years, He finally thought of riding Rapido part-time just to survive. He hasn't told his mother that he has been doing Rapido trips, and doesn't want to make her worry.”

Parag also shared the business card of the Rapido driver who is also a freelance creative director and asked people to connect with for any creative work.