Meet Saiyaara actor, who led superhit TV shows, worked with Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, but went almost bankrupt, then...

Born to theatre artist and veteran actor Vishwa Mohan Badola of Swades and Lage Raho Munna Bhai-fame, Varun Badola shot to fame with the TV show Koshish – Ek Aashaa, which began in 2000. He played the role of a mentally disabled person and impressed everyone with his acting chops. The actor then starred in multiple successful TV shows such as Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, Ghar Ek Sapnaa, Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani, Phir Subah Hogi, and Mere Angne Mein among others. 

Though his TV shows have raked in top spots on the TRP charts, Varun's films haven't worked at the box office. He acted with Salman Khan in Jai Ho (2014) and with Akshay Kumar in Mission Raniganj (2023). Both the films were major flops. His other theatrical releases such as Mickey Virus, Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, Rashmi Rocket, and Fraud Saiyaan were also completely rejected by the audiences, until came his biggest box office hit - Saiyaara. 

Varun Badola is seen playing Ahaan Panday's onscreen alcoholic father in the blockbuster romantic drama that has grossed Rs 404 crore at the worldwide box office and is still running to packed theatres in its second week. The Mohit Suri directorial and Yash Raj Films production, featuring Ahaan in his acting debut and newcomer Aneet Padda, has become the highest-grossing love story in Indian cinema history. But, there was a time when Varun had almost gone bankrupt.

In his interview with the popular YouTuber Siddharth Kannan in April 2024, Varun opened up on the financial challenges he has faced in his life. He said, "Bankruptcy keeps knocking at my door every few years, and then I have to tell myself to find work quickly. 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 2014-2015. 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", the Sky Force actor concluded.

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