Actor Varun Badola reveals 'bankruptcy kept knocking' at his door, recalls being 'down to his last penny'

Actor Varun Badola admits to facing financial hardships, revealing that bankruptcy was a constant threat and recounting a time when he was down to his last penny

Varun Badola, a well-known actor in Indian television for more than twenty years, talked about his ongoing money problems. He mentioned that despite being careful with his spending, his irregular work schedule means he often struggles to keep his savings stable. He even shared that about ten years ago, his financial situation got so dire that he had less than Rs 2 lakh in his bank account.

Actor Varun Badola reveals 'bankruptcy kept knocking' at his door

Varun Badola shared this during an interview with Siddharth Kannan, “I work for six months every two years, and then I don’t have work for two years.” 

He said, “Bankruptcy keeps knocking at my door every few years, and then I have to tell myself to find work quickly. People ask me why I don’t work regularly, but if you notice, most actors around the world aren’t working non-stop.” 

Varun expressed his pride in his long-standing career in television, spanning over two decades, particularly in significant roles, “Sometimes, I’ll admit I feel like I could’ve had a bigger car, a bigger house, but surviving for 30 years in the industry is more important than having a big car,” he said.

Remembering the tough times, the actor shared, “This one time, I was worried that I wouldn’t get any sort of work again. The industry was changing, and I started wondering what else I could do… I was actually down to one and a half or two months of savings. I would’ve had no more than Rs 2 lakh in my bank account. This was in around 2015. It was me, my wife, our four-year-old child, my parents, and two dogs. It was a family of seven, and most people don’t realise this, but when you have a young child at home, your expenses goes through the roof. And then you add the dogs; it’s very expensive to take care of them. I was almost down to my last penny.”

He mentioned that at one point, he and his wife sat down and made a plan to manage their finances better. They identified areas where they could spend less. Varun credited his wife for helping him navigate the ups and downs of the film and television industry. To ease the financial strain, he admitted to taking on some lower-quality work on a few occasions. “I did a couple of shows where I would pray that they don’t last for more than a few months. It’s not like I spend lavishly. Yes, I have lavish tastes, but that’s why God created Instagram. So, I decided to do a terrible show just for the money, and every morning I would pray that it gets cancelled after a few months.”

Lately, Varun has been taking on a few roles in both movies and TV shows. You might have spotted him in the Netflix series 'Guns & Gulaabs' and 'Kohrra,' as well as in the films 'Mission Raniganj' and 'Rashmi Rocket.'

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