Aditya Narayan began earning at the tender age of five. As the son of singer Udit Narayan, Aditya gravitated towards music from a very young age and soon, he started landing projects as a singer and an actor. He grew popular after he appeared with Salman Khan in the 1998 film Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, for which he was paid a remarkable Rs 3.5 lakh. And he used this money to fund his education right until he moved to London for higher studies.
In a recent conversation on Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa’s YouTube channel, Bharti TV, Aditya opened up about his relationship with his father, who wasn’t even aware when Aditya finished his 12th grade. “This was the first time in my life that my dad paid for my education,” Aditya recalled, referring to his studies in London. “Until then, school and college were quite affordable, and since I was earning, I managed on my own. I remember paying just Rs 1,800 for an entire year of school. My dad didn’t even know I had completed 12th grade.”
Aditya recalled that his father just casually asked him one day about his studies and was stunned to find out that he had already finished 12th grade. “He was shocked and asked how I managed. I told him I had secured admission through a cultural quota because of my singing talent,” he shared and added that he wanted to move to London to pursue higher studies and needed his father’s financial assistance for the same. “Even in those days, it cost around 800 pounds a month to live there. It was a lot, and I couldn’t afford it, so I finally approached my dad for financial support,” he said.
In the same chat, Aditya also spoke about his relationship with his father and described him as a “strict but loving” parent. He shared that his father would hit him, and he was “beaten a lot.” “My dad gave me a good dose of discipline until I turned 18. He would hit me. I was beaten a lot. But back then, it was almost normal. Among friends, we would even compare who got hit the most. My dad struck a balance – he loved me, but he also disciplined me. He was very strict. Times have changed now. Today, you can’t raise your hand on your kids,” he said.
Aditya also spoke about how his father spent very limited time with him as he was working a lot in those days. “Dad only got about three to four days with me every month. So, he felt he had to overcompensate. He would try to fit in all of life’s lessons in those few days. He would shower love and also discipline me. He never praised my achievements. I think it was my search for his validation that pushed me to become who I am today. So, in a way, his parenting worked,” he said.
Reflecting on his childhood, Aditya acknowledged that while his father’s tough love could have become a source of trauma, he chose to view it differently. “It’s all about perspective,” he said. “I could sit around sulking, saying, ‘Oh, my dad hit me a lot.’ Or I could choose not to. I decided to see it as something that came from a place of care. He wanted the best for me and did what he thought was right.”
