Balraj Syal: There is pressure to keep up with your public image

He says that there are times he has to dole out money for things which won’t have cost him that much otherwise.

“I won't say that I have gone through a rough patch financially recently. But I have gone through a rough patch during my childhood, during my early days as there was no finance at all. People do associate celebrities with a rich and lavish lifestyle but I don't ever overspend. Definitely, life isn't always easy for us. There are many responsibilities as well,” he says.

He adds, “There is pressure to keep up with your public image and due to that sometimes you have to overspend. To maintain the celebrity lifestyle, people do spend and even I have to. But I have never gone overboard to maintain a lavish lifestyle. I have always spent on those things that I needed earlier but couldn't afford like wearing good clothes, good shoes, and travelling. I always think that when I was working, people used to ask me why I don't stay in a nicer area. I always told them that I don't like to spend money on those things that are not needed.”

In fact, some expenditures really disturb him as well. “There are responsibilities. Since I live in a rented house, there are monthly expenses that do affect my mental health at times. Also, during the pandemic there was no work. As an artist when you are not working, you spend more because when you are working, you are on the sets and have no time,” he says.