Why Simple Kaul Chose Financial Freedom Over Fear of Missing Work

Simple Kaul never really stepped away from acting - she simply refused to let it become her only option. Long before "side hustle" became an industry buzzword, the actor and her friend Aditi Malik decided to build something of their own, and that decision, she says, had nothing to do with losing love for the camera.

"Aditi and I wanted to do something apart from acting. We enjoyed acting, but we didn't want to reach a point where we were forced to take up roles just because we needed the money," Kaul says, looking back at what pushed her toward entrepreneurship.

That instinct, she admits, was planted early. Her parents had drilled into her a simple philosophy about self-reliance. "They always told us, 'These hands are not meant to take from someone. They are meant to give.' You should be self-sufficient - able to take care of yourself and help others too," she recalls.

There was also a practical reality shaping her choices at the time. The entertainment landscape offered actors far fewer avenues than it does now. "The internet wasn't what it is today. If you weren't doing a television serial, films were the next obvious step. There wasn't much in between - you just had to wait," she says.

It was against this backdrop that Kaul and her partners decided to bet on the food business, launching Homemade Café, which was later followed by 1BHK and a string of other restaurant ventures. None of it came easy, and she's the first to admit the learning curve was steep. "We were actors. We didn't come from a restaurant or business background. We learnt everything on the job - things we simply didn't know before," she says, laughing at the memory.

For Kaul, though, the goal was never just about good food on a plate. She wanted her restaurants to feel like an escape. "We wanted to give people a place where they could feel happy. They should walk in, forget their problems for a while, and leave feeling good. Creating happiness in someone's heart - that's a beautiful feeling," she explains.

The road hasn't been without heartbreak. Kaul still feels the loss of her Juhu outlet, which had to shut down after the building underwent redevelopment. "It was one of my favourite branches, and it was doing extremely well. You build something with so much love, you get attached to it - and then circumstances beyond your control force you to let it go," she says.

Despite the setbacks, Kaul believes the years spent building a business outside acting have given her something invaluable: choice. "Now I can pick the kind of work I genuinely want to do. That freedom means everything to me."