First Salary: TV Celebs Open Up About Their First Paychecks, How They Earned It And What They Spent It On

As we grow up and start earning, the first paycheck is always special. Whatever the amount is, it does make us happy, proud and emotional. How we spend it is also a special experience. Celebs share their first salary and how much was the amount. They also reveal how they earned and what they spend it on.

Sudhanshu Pandey

My first earning was a contract of INR 25,000 in 1994. It was my first modelling assignment where I landed a very big campaign with a very big company. I remember buying something for my parents with the money.

Jason Tham

Back in 2010 I worked in a CA firm called Ernst And Young. I was in the client servicing and accounts department. My first salary was INR 5000 and when I got it for the first time I took my whole family to a restaurant. This was my first job in the corporate field and I felt very thankful for that.

Hema Sharma

I was in class 8 or 9 and was very famous in my colony for my moves. Whenever there used to be a marriage or any other function, I was always invited to show my skills and teach dance. I used to earn INR 5000 only by teaching dance and always gave the money to my parents. At that time it was a very big thing for a small town girl to go and teach dance at that time.

Shubhangi Atre

My first earning was from a shoot for a local shampoo ad. I got INR 2,500 for the same and went to the temple and offered sweets to God. Later, I bought something for my daughter Ashi. I had also shot for Bhaskar Namak ad around the same time for which I got Rs 3,000/ and I bought gifts for my parents and Ashi with that.

Hiten Paintal

The first earning of my life was from my Television show. So I used to get paid ₹2000/- per episode and I used to do 4 episodes in a month in which in total I used to get ₹8000/- per month. And I gave it to my mother. Usually I used to use my salary only for my personal expenses like fuel, mobile bills.

Aniruddh Dave

My first salary was from Prasar Bharati- All India Radio and that time I was in class 9. I received a cheque of INR 500 and with that I opened my bank account. Doordarshan had a show called Prashnotri and this team had an event organised on Independence Day, which I was again a part of. For that, I received another cheque of INR 1100. My income has always been from the entertainment industry and all these made my belief about my profession stronger and work towards it.

Somy Ali

At 14 I worked as a babysitter for our neighbor's two-year-old son. They gave me $5 per hour and babysat him 8 hours a day during my summer vacation when school was out. I spend the money on clothes and candy. Eventually I saved up $2000 to buy a used car when I got my permit to drive at 15.

Nikhil Nanda

My first earning was INR 10,000 when I was in class 10. (please check the source of his income and add here) I had bought a Hero Honda motorcycle with the money.

Nivedita Basu

My first earning happened at home. My grandfather and father used to tip me something or the other when I did their work. But on the professional front, I remember in college we were in BCAC and Pragati Maidan used to have these fairs where we used to be the representatives of the stalls. I used to work for Samsung, so I used to earn almost INR 500/ each day.

Rohit Choudhary

My first income was when I was in college. It was back in 1989 and I didn’t have a single penny but that time during Diwali I made up my mind to buy crackers so I asked my brother- in-law to lend me INR 50,000 for 15-20 days and I would return it soon. With that money, I bought crackers from the wholesale market and put up a stall. In three days, I sold out all the crackers for INR 78,000, so my profit INR 38,000 was my first income. I bought a Yamaha rx100 with the money and couldn’t sleep the whole night. When my dad returned from his duty in the evening I told him about how I got the bike. He wasn’t happy and asked me how I was going to buy petrol to run it… I’ve never sold that bike, it’s very special to me and has been a witness to many firsts in my life.

Charrul Malik

My first earning was a INR 250 check when I was just 15 years old from All India Radio for a show called Yuva. I used to host it .I started reading a newspaper on the city channel also for which I got INR 350. That was the start. And, I bought a sari for my mom with that money. I had actually clubbed a little money from my savings to buy that special gift for her.

Zayn Ibad Khan

It is not a very old story. Just 5-6 years back I started working in a gym as a trainer. I was 17 back then as I always wanted to be independent and didn’t want to take money from my parents. Being a fitness enthusiast since childhood, I channelised my passion and turned it into my profession. And, after working 8-9 hours daily, my first salary was only INR 3000/-. I don’t have words to describe how I felt when I got the money. I came back home, dad was sleeping. So I went to his bed and cuddled him and said ‘Abba meri pehli Kamayi’ and I gave him my money. He kissed me all over and said, ‘you have worked hard my son, it is your hard-earned money, keep it’. He also said that ‘this is just the beginning, you have a world to conquer’.

Anupama Solanki

My first earning was from my first music album. The first cheque I received was of INR sixty thousand. It was a huge amount for me at that time so I was very happy because it was the first earning of my life. With that money I did a lot of shopping for myself and my family. I am very fond of dresses and sandals, so I had purchased designer clothes and sandals. Even now, if I remember that time, a smile comes on my face. Can't tell how happy I was that day.

Arun Mandola

My first earning was Rs 75 and I went to Gurgaon with some colony people to give polio drops. It was some government project and I gave a small party to my siblings with that money.

Megha Kishore

I earned Rs 5,000 rupees back in 2017 when I first performed on the stage. It was a proud moment for me and my parents. I was on cloud nine that day. I can still feel the happiness which I got that day. I've been working hard to reach my goals and I know God is always there with me, supporting me. I did langar outside a temple with that money. That was the most beautiful moment of my life.

Siddharth Sagar

My first earning was Rs 350/- for a live show and I was seven years old. I gave the entire amount to my mom because she enjoyed watching me perform on stage and she saw an artist in me as she is herself. She is the reason why I am here today.

Mitaali Nag

My first earning was ₹500. I was in my 12th grade when I earned it for choreographing two popular Bollywood numbers that I worked on for two Russian expats in my home town. They had come to our dance academy and I was the one who knew how to speak English, so I had to teach them the dance. I gave the money to my mother!

Prateik Chaudhary

When I started my business, I earned around Rs one lakh the first month.But, when it comes to acting, my first paycheck was Rs three thousand, I used to get it on a per day for my first project. And, both times I gave the money to my parents.

Anjali Phougat

I started working at a very young age. My first paycheck was at the age of 15 and it was about Rs 2,000 when I started giving part-time tuitions to earn my pocket money and help students. I gave some part of that to my parents and the rest was spent on clothes. I loved dressing up and spending money on clothes. It feels unreal when I look back how my life has evolved from living in a small town to building my dream life that I have now.