Money is the only thing that lured me to acting- Rakeshh Paaul

Money. That's what drives everyone in the final analysis, whether in the glamour world of acting or the hard grind of scripting and producing. Cashin' In sits down with TV celebs to know well they handle their financial matters, and tracks their spending patterns. Money is the only thing that lured me to acting. Rakeshh Paaul certainly has no qualms in admitting to this. He started off his career earning Rs.50 and today he’s a proud owner of a plush apartment in Mumbai. Let’s take a sneak peak into how the actor goes about handling his finances. How important is money for you? Money is the only thing that lured me to acting. I came to Mumbai with a law degree and thought of perhaps getting a marketing job. I would have been happy with Rs 10,000 job. Actor-director Satish Kaushik convinced me to join the industry. I still wasn’t sure whether I could act. All I said to myself whether I succeed or fail, it would all be because of Satishji.. Are you an impulsive buyer? Very much so. It’s just two days since the iphone was launched in India and I’m hell bent on buying it. I’ll have my phone in a couple of days. What are the investments you have made? I usually play it very safe. So, it’s mutual funds for me. However, in the last year or so, I started to invest in shares when the markets slowed down. I thought this is a time to buy shares in the hope that when the sensex rises I’d sell them at a profit. In my anxiety, I kept on buying shares but the markets showed no signs of an increase. Finally, I decided to get rid of them. It was then the markets improved but I had no shares left in my hand. What is your most expensive purchase? It will have to be my house in Malad. I bought it for approximately 20 lakhs but it’s now worth 60. Do you feel financially secure? That’s the beauty of television. It offers you financial and social security. Who handles your expenses? The petty household expenses are handled by my wife. However it’s always me who takes care of the bigger expenses. What was your first salary? What you did with it? It’s been a long time. I used to shoot for a show called Labella. In a month, I’d only shot for 3-4 episodes and I was paid for per episode. We used to get Rs.50 a day for our conveyance. On the first day of the shoot, I got paid Rs.50 which amounted to my first salary. I must have made about 700 rupees from the show. How much money do you carry every day? Honestly speaking, I have never kept a track of it. Usually, it’s my wife who deposits money in my wallet. I always ask her to tell me before hand as to how much cash she’s putting in. My wife works as an air hostess for Jet Airways, thus she’s not there every time to put cash into my wallet. If she forgets to inform me then I’ll have no idea of how much money I’m carrying. Any advice for investors? Adopt a wait and watch policy.