Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I chose to invest everything in my own private companies.
UTV's uniqueness is that it is an integrated media company.
In a country like India, we need to solve problems at scale.
All glory is fleeting. And, If you do not love what you do, don't do it.
There is no typical day and I intend to keep it that way for the next 20 years.
The online education space, especially in higher education, is ripe for disruption.
A good beginning is like a honeymoon; it gets over soon. The challenge is in keeping up the momentum.
Without appearing smug in any way, I would say I did not have a role model. I wish I had but I did not.
Parsee culture is definitely one of strong business acumen, high ethics, and an element of philanthropy.
I have learnt as an entrepreneur that the formidable opponent you can have is someone who has nothing to lose.
I play chess with the computer when I feel dull in my mind and after two games - 'out or win', I feel sharp again.
I'm off the diet, but not the treadmill. I speak as someone who's attempted to lose weight and get fit thrice before in my life.
A three-to-six month course can give priority and direction on the five or six important things that entrepreneurs need to do first.
India's ambitions as a country and, in turn, the ambitions of our youth and working professionals are soaring. A new wave of learning is upon us.
Movies are a hobby for me. I think storytelling has reached a new level where younger audiences are looking at something more real and contextual.
I would say that in the 1990s, I don't think the environment was enough to make anyone ambitious and aspirational. It was a downer, I would think.
If you are a single product company, then you are a contract company. But if you enter the retail market, then you have to be a multiple product company.
The way we structure our deals is to work closely with the director. It is imperative to work with a studio because the way the film is marketed is crucial.
But I'm a first-generation entrepreneur. I realised very soon that I was a do-er, outside of being maybe a value adder, mentor or someone who just gives inputs.
My parents used to play cards on Saturday… all the friends would come across. So it was like one massive Parsee gathering… and the value system kind of creeps in.
Our first and main focus will continue to be producing content for a huge domestic market and the second largest migrant population in the world, which is south Asian.
After 2012, I'm pretty much out of the media and entertainment business. But yes, I was the outsider and no, it wasn't a handicap. To me, it was a blessing in disguise.
For an emerging market that hopes to be the third largest economy in the world, you cannot do it without being innovative and disruptive. There is no choice in the matter.
Disney is looking at growing in emerging markets - and for them India is an important market. They also recognize how important it is to partner with a local Indian company.
My thought process was: We had decided to become a B2C company and build the UTV brand and we couldn't be that as a TV producer or ad film-maker or doing in-flight programmes.
The UTV/Disney fit works because UTV Motion Pictures was already very strong in producing and creating its own films beyond just co-producing, acquiring or distributing titles.
People think that cartoons are meant to be watched on television and not in cinemas. To get people into cinemas to see animation really boils down to storytelling for the family.
The global e-learning online market is on fire. Organizations which feel left out of this non-linear world of opportunities are seeing the need to adopt this new way of lifelong learning.
I am a firm believer of staying the course, you can never time success or being in the right place at the right time. But you can sure work on creating multiple opportunities for the same.
I like doing firsts and 'Love per Square Foot' will be the first ever Indian movie to premiere on a digital platform. Netflix saw the movie, loved it and proposed that we premiere it with them.
Multiplexes need to be partners in increasing footfalls, but they have been too focused - maybe rightly so - in expanding their footprint of screens, because we are such an under-screened country.
The interesting part for India is really that it's an emerging market, and therefore the opportunities are very unique. I guess the challenge that comes with that - it's always a path less trodden.
Most of us don't look at investment in a win-win situation. You have to give in a little bit; you have to take a little bit. Most feel everything has to be rinsed out for closing of the transaction.
I would be fooling myself if I thought I would succeed as an entrepreneur. Maybe my base as a theatre artiste gave me the confidence as that's when you start feeling you can do something on your own.
I don't think anyone is 'born' an entrepreneur. It is not a genetic thing. But you do need self-confidence, guts and a relentless attitude to life-it's a24/7 treadmill, not a jump-on, jump-off routine.
If you're looking at a country like India, the basic subsistence in itself creates its own challenges. So I think that lends to a different level of innovation and a different level of entrepreneurship.
The next level of mass consumption - and India is known for its consumption story - is really going to come from consumption in the rural areas. So that's going to throw up a lot of unique opportunities.
The consumer has paid a ticket price to watch a movie and he/she is being subjected to a massive 15 minutes or more of advertising thereby driving him/her away from coming to the theatre. This has to stop.
When one was looking at getting out of media, I took a fair amount of time to figure out what I want to do for the next 20 years… the one thing I am very passionate about is entrepreneurship in this country.
Somebody needs to position you and introduce you, but after that, most of the bankers get represented with their large clients; mostly investors are their long-term clients and an investee is a short term client.
In the digital era, everyone is a student. Degrees given by formal education are not a value currency anymore. Technical skills and an individual's ability to apply the outcomes are important, irrespective of age.
When we started our foundation, I was less than 30 years old. We pledged that 10 per cent of our profits, whatever the amount, would be used for a social cause, and that we would be actively involved in that cause.
One becomes an entrepreneur to break the glass ceiling and that's when you grow the market. Of course, in that process you have to be prepared to get hurt. You will get hurt. But I'm a doer and I like taking risks.
The film business is just one of our verticals. We have wanted for some time to make inroads into the English language market, because I think that over time such films can cross over into the international market.
In India, the key is to start at the base and start very young. We need professionally trained talent, talent that wants to make football their career, and people must see football as a strong professional career option.
We are calling ourselves a startup nation, but the number of people who set out on their own is very low; even 10,000 a year would be low in a country like India. We can say we are a startup nation but the world won't say it.
I have never had a situation where an investee company would have a good value by having a banker. Investment bankers are there to please future clients. You are a temporary client; they are therefore not to get you the best valuation.
Our vision is to break the projects into stories that must be told, stories that we would like to tell and stories that people go to movies for. If we can find great scripts that fit these three categories, we will go out and make a movie.
Somebody is coming to bring their global vision to India. If they are coming on their own, they shouldn't tie up. If they are coming because you know the ground level and there are international best practices to be shared, then it is the best way.
Unlearning is gaining importance as workplaces are moving towards agile, collaborative working models. While conventional education adds to our knowledge, unlearning will become the new learning in the coming decade, as concepts and ideas keep evolving.