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.
Ronnie Screwvala
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.
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.
How Hungama became the top children's channel in India is interesting because we were up against, not just Disney, but also Time Warner's Cartoon Network. It was an illustration of the fact that for any company that wants to grow in emerging markets, localizing content is the key.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After college I'd take up a job and I'd experience what it is to take up a job, rather than starting out on my own. I said let me just work for six months so that I know myself a little better.
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.
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.
UTV's uniqueness is that it is an integrated media company.
Theatre has been a sort of hobby. I regret that I am not active, but given my job that is difficult. But those were learning days. The learning curve was the level of confidence, maturity, and reflexes that theatre teaches you is fantastic. You are alone in front of an audience for two hours and that gives you a different kind of confidence.
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 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.
All glory is fleeting. And, If you do not love what you do, don't do it.
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.
There is no typical day and I intend to keep it that way for the next 20 years.
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.
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.
When I set up UTV, my ambitions were quite low.
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.
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.
Without appearing smug in any way, I would say I did not have a role model. I wish I had but I did not.
A lot of good movies produced well can be distributed or marketed badly. Of course, a lot of bad movies marketed well can also fail badly. But we want to be in charge of the value chain. And for this we have to be in software production, distribution, and broadcasting.
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.
The online education space, especially in higher education, is ripe for disruption.
When something becomes a business, 50% of your decisions are what you have to do and not what you want to do.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If you look at Disney's slate compared to the other Hollywood studios, it stands out because of big titles and strong franchise films which also extend beyond cinemas, to merchandising or theme parks given the legacy of the four brands - Disney, Pixar, Marvel and now Lucasfilm.
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.
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 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.
A good beginning is like a honeymoon; it gets over soon. The challenge is in keeping up the momentum.
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.
We need to find a different word for 'skills', which to most people sounds very basic.
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.
In a country like India, we need to solve problems at scale.
You can look at any industry and sector and then figure out how high is your glass ceiling. Do you want to diversify or do you want to penetrate the ceiling? Because the ones who break the glass ceiling are going to be big-time winners, but it will be a longer-term view on things and requires a lot more courage, a lot more guts.
I have learnt as an entrepreneur that the formidable opponent you can have is someone who has nothing to lose.
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.
A three-to-six month course can give priority and direction on the five or six important things that entrepreneurs need to do first.
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.
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.
Parsee culture is definitely one of strong business acumen, high ethics, and an element of philanthropy.
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.
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.
