Nikhil KamathEp. #19 | WTF is “Making it” in an Offbeat Career? Nikhil Kamath Ft. Kriti Sanon, Badshah & KL Rahul
CHAPTERS
Setting the premise: What does “making it” mean in unconventional careers?
Nikhil frames the conversation around three high-aspiration careers—acting, cricket, and music—and what aspiring young people can learn from those who’ve “made it.” The tone is informal and friend-like, with early banter about cities, friendships, and shared circles.
- •Goal of the episode: extract non-generic lessons beyond “hard work” and “luck”
- •Careers discussed as aspirational archetypes: actor, cricketer, musician
- •Importance of childhood context, environment, and early decisions
- •Casual group dynamic established before deeper questions begin
Kriti Sanon’s early years: shy, studious, stage-fright… but drawn to performance
Kriti describes herself as a shy, nerdy firstborn with academic pressure at home. Despite stage fright, she had a natural pull toward dancing and performance, with her mother turning “talent” into “skill” through training.
- •Firstborn pressure and academic identity: marks, perfectionism, approval
- •Stage fright coexisting with comfort once she starts performing
- •Early dance exposure and copying Bollywood performers (e.g., Madhuri)
- •Family background: mother as professor, father as CA; structured, study-focused home
Perfectionism, validation, and the mother-daughter engine behind achievement
The conversation digs into the emotional payoff of achievement—validation, pride, and internal pressure to do well. Kriti connects her mother’s strictness to her mother’s own constrained opportunities and dreams.
- •Validation as an emotional driver (marks, praise, achievement)
- •High standards at home: tests, corrections, discipline
- •Kriti’s mother’s backstory: fought for education/career in a different era
- •How parental ambition/limitations can shape a child’s achievement psychology
Attachment style, conflict response, and the role of work as emotional regulation
Nikhil probes Kriti’s attachment tendencies and how she responds to confrontation. Kriti explains she’s prone to crying when yelled at, prefers talking things out, and notices that idle time can worsen low moods—while work energizes and stabilizes her.
- •Needs space when mood is low; emotional openness can trigger tears
- •Confrontation anxiety tied to unresolved issues with close people
- •Work as aliveness: set life provides momentum and meaning
- •Happiness framed as peace + motion; ambition can coexist with calm
Outsider status in Bollywood: access, calls you don’t have, and evolving self-trust
Kriti discusses the absence of legacy support and how that affects access and opportunities. Over a decade, she feels less pressure to prove herself, and more freedom to choose projects that genuinely excite her rather than ‘should-do’ films.
- •No ‘call-making’ network; outsider constraints are real, especially early on
- •A decade-long journey toward credibility and reduced insecurity
- •Learning from decisions made for ‘box office logic’ vs creative satisfaction
- •Professional wish list: better scripts, challenging roles, new directors
From engineering to acting: curiosity, asking questions, and building confidence by repetition
Kriti explains she didn’t enter Mumbai with a clear acting blueprint—she discovered the path through modeling and repeated exposure to scary situations. Her differentiator: learning mindset, asking questions without fear of looking stupid, and persistence through bad early auditions.
- •Engineering mindset: curiosity, logic, and constant questioning
- •Confidence built through repetition (first shoots/ramp walks ended in tears)
- •Practical advice: ask questions; don’t avoid looking inexperienced
- •Breakthrough principle: persist after bad auditions; skill builds over time
KL Rahul’s upbringing: small-town routine, multi-sport foundation, and early obsession with cricket
Rahul recounts growing up near Mangalore in a campus environment, with teacher parents and structured routines. Playing many sports (football, swimming, athletics) shaped his athleticism, while cricket became his singular childhood focus.
- •Campus life and beach routine: sport-heavy childhood structure
- •Multiple sports developed overall athletic ability and body coordination
- •Cricket obsession started extremely young; coaching began at 11
- •Parents supported the dream but demanded strong academics alongside
Talent vs practice in sport: nature, hand-eye coordination, and the limits of training
Rahul argues that certain athletic capabilities—ball tracking, bounce judgment, reaction—are partly innate and separate those who reach the top from those who don’t. The group debates nature vs nurture across sport and creative fields, contrasting it with finance where ‘talent’ feels less visible.
- •Key performance primitives: vision, anticipation, hand-eye coordination
- •Practice can improve skills, but some baseline abilities may be gifted
- •Parallels to acting/singing: not all capabilities are teachable
- •Tension between measurable data and the unpredictability of outcomes
Religion, gratitude, and resetting ambition: why Rahul goes to temples
A controversial question about skipping temple lines leads into a deeper discussion of faith. Rahul describes temple visits as a reminder of humility, gratitude, and balance—an antidote to performance anxiety and future-obsession.
- •Faith shaped by upbringing, later becomes personal and need-based
- •Temples as grounding rituals, not transactional asking/forgiveness
- •Key mental model: don’t chase “step 10” from “step 5” too fast
- •Performance improves when outcome pressure is reduced (individualized)
Trolling, public failure, and mental defense strategies
Rahul describes being deeply impacted by public backlash after a controversial interview and suspension, changing his comfort with crowds and self-expression. He and Kriti discuss coping through reduced social media exposure and building private ‘recharge’ spaces away from noise.
- •Public scandal as a psychological rupture; confidence → guardedness
- •Schadenfreude and the cycle of idolization/fall/comeback
- •Coping strategy: post-and-exit social media; avoid comment spirals
- •Return-to-home strategy: Bengaluru friends as a protected, normalizing zone
Badshah’s origin story: writing as expression, rap discovery, and building sound in Chandigarh
Badshah traces his path from Delhi to engineering, where writing began as a way to express what he couldn’t say aloud. Exposure to Punjabi and global rap, plus easy access to music via early internet tools, pushed him toward making beats and rapping seriously.
- •Writing started in school as delayed emotional/argument processing
- •Influences: Punjabi music at home, then Eminem/Tupac and Western pop
- •Chandigarh/Punjab as a cultural melting pot for new sounds
- •Early DIY learning: downloads, software experimentation, beat-making
From government job to breakout: working with Honey Singh, ‘Saturday Saturday,’ and ‘Party’ era
Badshah explains balancing a government posting with underground music work, then learning production after parting ways with Honey Singh. ‘Saturday Saturday’ exploded locally and later entered Bollywood; a major mainstream breakthrough followed with ‘Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai.’
- •First industry momentum via collaboration and ghostwriting/rap work
- •Government job as financial necessity while building music credibility
- •Learning production as a turning point after 2011 split
- •Dharma film inclusion story and confidence-driven negotiation style
Data vs art, AI vs authenticity, and where the real growth is in music & films
A debate emerges on whether data can predict hits in creative fields, with Rahul and Badshah arguing it helps but can’t guarantee outcomes. Badshah critiques AI for creativity while acknowledging inevitability, predicting non-AI art may become premium; live events are highlighted as the biggest growth engine.
- •Moneyball-style thinking: helpful inputs but no guaranteed formula
- •Streaming/label analytics shape song structure but can reduce originality
- •AI seen as inevitable; ‘human-made’ may become premium/rare
- •Live concerts/events as the strongest investment opportunity in music
Boys chat & closing playbook: relationships, patience, originality, and ‘fail fast’ in business
After Kriti leaves, the conversation turns to dating, focus, and the role of relationships in stability—Rahul values partnership as a safe space; Badshah avoids relationships to protect focus. The episode closes with practical advice: be original, have patience, outwork competition, pick sectors with tailwinds, and abandon failing businesses quickly.
- •Badshah: relationships can dilute focus; Rahul: stability improves performance
- •Advice to creators: be inspired, not influenced; originality + conviction wins
- •Core success virtues: patience, persistence, and a ‘dog in you’ competitiveness
- •Entrepreneurship: choose strong sectors, don’t chase hype, and ‘fail fast’ within ~1–2 years
