Shah Rukh Khan's co-star, who started working at 5, says acting doesn't pay: ‘You've to do brand deals, endorsements to make money'

Indian Express

2 days ago

Ahsaas Channa, actor most recently seen in the 2023 Amazon MiniTV show Half CA, started acting at the age of five. She appeared as a boy in Sushmita Sen-starrer 2004 horror film Vaastu Shastra and more memorably, as Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta's son in Karan Johar's 2006 romantic film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. However, Channa feels she still can't earn enough via acting and has to rely on other sources of revenue — like brand deals and endorsements — to make money.
'I feel you can't make money as an actor. You've to do brand deals and endorsements to make money because brands only have the money to give you,' confessed Channa, adding, 'I won't say I don't make money (via acting), but not enough. I'll not do as many projects a year as brands. I'd be able to do only one or two projects a year and make a certain amount of money. But I'll be able to do 20 brands a year to make a bigger amount of money.'
On the Humans of Bombay podcast, Channa argued that the money from brand deals helps since she can keep her acting to creative purposes only. 'I think I'm privileged and lucky enough that I get to choose my acting projects only with a creative lens. I don't have to think financially when I have to say yes to an acting project. Say, I don't have work, I don't have money, so I've to say yes to it. Aisa kabhi nahi hua ki kuchh bhi aaya aur kar lia because paise chahiye (It's never happened that I took up anything that came my way because I didn't have money). I've always been in that space in which I say no to a project only if it's not creatively aligned with what I want to do because I have good backup from brands when it comes to money. So it's okay if I don't do any acting project for a year. Financially, acting is not my first go-to option, it's brands,' explained Channa.
However, she admitted that being an actor is her primary identity since that helps her secure the brands that pay. 'I'm also not an influencer or a content creator. I'm an actor who has a certain number of followers,' said Channa, adding, 'Luckily, I've done enough projects, or at least one project, a year to stay relevant as an actor for the brands to come and give me those deals. Luck also plays a part there. It's never happened that I've not done an acting project the entire year.'
Channa claimed that since not too many people knew that she played a boy in her early films, she gets a lot of DMs from girls who say she broke their heart when they realized the boy they had a crush on is actually a girl. She also called working with Shah Rukh 'one of the best experiences' of her life. 'He's just so humble and hardworking. I used to draw greeting cards for him and wrote letters to him on set. He was the first one who started clapping for me after I gave a shot which was a really difficult one that didn't make it to the film,' recalled Channa.
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She also recalled bumping into another Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna co-star Abhishek Bachchan recently at an award show. 'Luckily, I was in the same row. I was contemplating whether I should go meet him, he won't remember me, I'll have to remind him, it's going to be awkward. And I'm just sitting and staring at him. He's talking to a lot of people, he turns and looks at me, and he comes with his arms wide open just to hug me. He says, 'Ahsaas, wow you've grown up!' You have no idea how happy it made me,' said Channa.