Simple Kaul’s decision to step away from regular acting assignments and build a restaurant business wasn’t about losing interest in the camera. The actor says she wanted financial independence that would allow her to choose projects for creative satisfaction rather than necessity.

“Aditi Malik and I wanted to do something apart from acting. We were enjoying acting, but we didn’t want to reach a point where we were forced to accept roles simply because we needed money,” Simple shares.

The actor says her upbringing played an important role in shaping this mindset. “Our parents always taught us, ‘These hands are not meant to take from someone. They are meant to give.’ You should be self-sufficient. You should be able to take care of yourself and help others,” she says.

At the time, Simple felt actors had limited options outside television and films. “The internet wasn’t what it is today. If you weren’t doing a television serial, the next obvious option was films. There wasn’t much in between. You had to wait,” she recalls.

That was when Simple and her partners decided to explore the food business. Homemade Café was followed by 1BHK and other restaurant ventures.

“We were actors. We didn’t come from a restaurant or business background. We learnt everything on job, which we didn’t know earlier,” she says with a laugh.

For Simple, the objective was never limited to serving food. “We wanted to give people a place where they could feel happy. They should enter, forget their problems for a while and leave feeling good. When you create happiness in people’s hearts, it is a beautiful feeling,” she shares.

The journey, however, came with difficult moments. Simple recalls being heartbroken when her Juhu restaurant had to shut due to building redevelopment. “It was one of my favourite branches and it was doing extremely well. You create something with so much love and become attached to it. Then circumstances beyond your control force you to let it go,” she says.

Today, Simple feels the business has given her freedom as an actor. “Now I can choose the kind of work I genuinely want to do. That freedom is extremely important to me.”