`Rupees one crore is good enough’

The morning after the whole country watched Harshavardhan Nawathe win a crore on television, the 27-year-old `it boy' arrived at photograp...

The morning after the whole country watched Harshavardhan Nawathe win a crore on television, the 27-year-old `it boy’ arrived at photographer Atul Kasbekar’s Worli studio to have some pictures taken. In an exclusive interview with Aditya Mehta, India’s first TV crorepati talks about life after the jackpot.

How has your life changed since you won that elusive crore?
(Smiles)… Life has changed a lot over the past weeks. It all happened so unexpectedly, that I’m still trying to get used to it. Of course, I’m glad that this happened, especially as three years of diligence for the IAS has paid off. My schedule included reading from 11.30 pm to 5 am and then from the afternoon till late evening!

You appeared so stoic and impassive when you won that crore. In fact, you seemed less excited than Amitabh and the ecstatic crowd…
It’s not that I wasn’t affected. I just didn’t want to react like that in front of Mr Bachchan. I have a lot of respect for him and it felt wrong to shout in front of him. Besides, it was all so sudden.

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Whom did you watch the telecast with on Thursday night?
We were a group of 25 people – friends and family, some who came from as far as Indore and Jabalpur to watch this with me.

And what was it like watching yourself on TV?
It was great to re-live the episode. I hardly remembered the questions, so as the episode progressed, everything came back to me. Without sounding pompous, I knew most of the answers. On the odd occasion that I didn’t, I tried to remember where I had read about that subject, and that helped me with the tricky ones.

There was some talk about you getting modelling offers. Is that why you are having your pictures shot by Atul Kasbekar?
Yes, I have been approached by some three people to model for their products. However, it would be best not to speak about it right now. Regarding shooting with Atul, these are snaps for the media and not for a portfolio.

What about marriage proposals? Finding a girl shouldn’t be very difficult, now that you have both fame and fortune…
(Laughs)… Strangely, I have received no proposals. Although, if you’ve received any on my behalf, you can pass them on to me. Seriously, I don’t have any immediate plans to get married…I have a career to set up first. My parents, on the other hand are quite liberal, and wouldn’t object if I married someone I loved. She would have to be independent, but a home-maker as well. Since I am the only son, I’d like my wife to be a daughter for my parents.

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Were there any words of advice from Amitabh himself?
Yes. I met him after the show for about 20 minutes, and he told me some things I should always keep in mind, like caring for my parents. He also advised me on how to go on with my life and most importantly, on how to handle the money and the fame that will come with this.

You expressed a desire to buy a train. You weren’t serious, were you?
No, I wasn’t. Parking would be a problem! I haven’t received the money yet, nor have I decided how I’m going to spend it. It all depends on my father, who in consultation with our chartered accountant, will guide me on how I should spend it. Some of it will go in buying myself a new wardrobe and another part will go towards my education abroad.

Finally, with Sawaal Dus Crore Ka coming up on Zee, do you hope to take a second go? You might get lucky twice…
No. One crore is plenty of money. This is really good enough!