Skip to main content

Mobile Ads

A look Ekta Kapoor's career graph on her birthday as she turns 47

Ekta Kapoor and I go back a long way, almost to the time when she began her career. She was a firebrand even as a child. Once when a female fan was getting too friendly with her father the actor Jeetendra, little Ekta ran after the fan with her shoes.

Among the young achievers of the last millennium Ekta Kapoor not only set new standards for female entrepreneurship in India, she also re-wrote several rules of home-viewing entertainment in India.  Although her   father Jeetendra was a major star Ekta was never tempted to become an actress. But she wanted to become a journalist during her childhood. Television wasn’t a conscious decision.  When Ekta was 17, she suddenly realized she was doing nothing with her life.

Then Ekta’s father met Ketan Somaiya in London. He owned a TV channel called TV Asia. He suggested that Jeetendra make software for his channel. When Jeetendra returned to India, he suggested that Ekta make the software for Somaiya. Ekta made some pilots. But the deal with Ketan Somaiya fell through when his channel was sold to Zee. Ekta recalled   herself as “a spoilt fat kid with several pilots made with my father’s money, and with nothing to do.” At this point Ekta began to believe she was good for nothing. She told me felt terrible about squandering my dad’s hard-earned money.

After all her initial efforts fell through Ekta made the pilot of Hum Paanch with the little money she had.  When Ekta went with her   mother to one channel, they offered her 10,000 rupees for Hum Paanch, saying it was enough for a girl. But it wasn’t enough for Ekta.  Then on her way back, she just dropped in to give the pilot tape of Hum Paanch to Zee. And they   accepted it. Ekta has come a long way since her Hum Paanch days. I no longer know her the way I did back then when she was warm approachable and respectful. She is now fortified against all human contact by a secretariat of PR persons, marketing minions, co-producers and team players who buffer and deflect her life away from any genuine human contact. Her time is consumed in plotting new shows, the more shocking the better. For me she will always be the exuberant entrepreneur and the warm person she is.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

Read all the Latest NewsTrending NewsCricket NewsBollywood NewsIndia News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

 


by Subhash K Jha

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch The Sound with Mark Ronson Apple TV+ explores the curious link between music and technology

In The Salmon of Doubt , Douglas Adams writes: “I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary, and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that's invented between when you’re 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary, and you can probably get a career in it. 3. Anything invented after you're 35 is against the natural order of things.” Cut to the world of music. As much as technology has been a driving force in the industry, the advent of any innovation has often been received with skepticism before it goes on to become the norm. Harnessing that interplay between the creative process of making music and the technological enhancement given to said music, is acclaimed DJ and producer Mark Ronson. In his just-released six-part mini-docuseries Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson , he astutely defines how different the process of creating a great ...

Shakuntala Devi director Anu Menon, Abundantia Entertainment reunite to announce murder mystery

Director Anu Menon and production house Abundantia Entertainment are set to reunite for a murder mystery after Vidya Balan-starrer  Shakuntala Devi , the makers said on Monday. According to a press release, the film is in the final stages of screenplay, with principal photography expected to begin in April-May 2021. Menon said she had a great time working with Abundantia Entertainment on Shakuntala Devi and is happy to have joined hands with the banner for her new movie. “Their passion for telling compelling stories and commitment to a director’s vision are rare to find. We have a very different story coming up this time round and I hope we receive the same love from the audience as we did for our first collaboration together,” the director said in a statement. See the post View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anu Menon (@directormenon) Vikram Malhotra, founder, and CEO, Abundantia Entertainment said Menon has a unique style of storytelling that is i...

Coronavirus Outbreak: Disney announces phased reopening of Paris theme park from 15 July

Walt Disney Co will reopen its Disneyland Paris theme park in phases from 15 July, days after it plans to open its parks in the United States, the company said on Monday. It expects to reopen Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disney’s Newport Bay Club hotel and Disney Village, according to Natacha Rafalski, president of Disneyland Paris. Check out the announcement here We’re pleased to announce that @DisneyParis_EN will begin a phased reopening of the resort starting with Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disney’s Newport Bay Club hotel and Disney Village as of July 15, 2020. Learn more: https://t.co/F5ga3qffIW pic.twitter.com/mb3PiQ4o2N — Disney Parks News (@DisneyParksNews) June 22, 2020 The company had closed its theme parks around the world in January as the coronavirus started spreading globally, leading to sweeping lockdowns and travel restrictions. (Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak) Disney also said last month it would re...