Aditya Narayan, son of legendary singer Udit Narayan, started as a child artiste, performed globally with the Little Wonders troupe, and became a taxpayer at just seven. His rise in the entertainment industry came fast, and so did the lessons.
Sudden fame, big money, and ego
In a recent chat with Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Aditya recalled his hosting breakthrough with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007. “I had to go through three rounds of auditions before being selected as host. They offered me Rs 7,500 per episode. Since we shot two episodes at once, I earned Rs 15,000 a day. I went crazy! I was living with my father, had no expenses, and suddenly I was spending Rs 75,000 every month,” he said.The young host admitted that the sudden fame and money gave him a big ego. “I was just 18, earning so much. I did about 52 episodes and made around Rs 8 lakh in a season,” he revealed, with Bharti joking that he wouldn’t do even a single episode for that money today.
Learning financial discipline
Aditya confessed that he initially had no savings habit. “I never saved a penny. But in the second season, my fees jumped to Rs 25,000 per episode, and that’s when I realised the importance of saving.” He also recalled a funny ‘competition’ with his father: “I was hosting on Zee while he was judging on Sony.”
First tax at seven
Interestingly, Aditya’s financial lessons started much earlier. “I paid my first tax at seven. I don’t remember if I even had a PAN card, but I definitely remember paying taxes,” he said.
Childhood payday and a yellow Zen car
He also spoke about his highest payday as a child from Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai (1998): “Tips paid me Rs 3.5 lakh for my role. My parents even bought a yellow Zen car with that money—though I always thought the car looked constipated.”
