It’s E for Entertainment. It’s also E for Ekta Kapoor! Perhaps she has the strongest voice when it comes to Indian television but her life has completely “changed” with Lakku (brother Tusshar Kapoor’s son Laksshya), around her. “I can’t tell you how this little one has the whole house wrapped around his little fingers. I had to pull myself away to come here because saying bye was so difficult. He is the cutest thing on earth. They say, there are joys of having a child but there is a bigger joy of having a nephew,” smiled Ekta, who was in her “favourite” Calcutta to attend an interactive session organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) on ‘The world of entertainment — a serious business’ at Crystal Room, Taj Bengal, recently. t2 jotted down a few inspiring nuggets from her journey...
Learnt on the job
I work with my mother (Shobha). She has been working with me since the time I had started. I have learnt along the way. She was a homemaker, so she learnt on the job just by knowing how to keep the budget of the house. I learnt the art of business from her and I got creativity from my dad (actor Jeetendra).
A party animal and daddy’s girl
I was like any other 16-year-old, pretty much partying and doing the rounds of clubs in Mumbai. Probably I was enjoying more than I should. I had almost given up college because it wasn’t my calling. I used to watch American television at home all day and at night I used to go out to party. My dad told me that I can’t do this and waste time. He encouraged me to make a TV channel, for which I joined hands with Dolphin (Group). When the channel was sold, Dolphin went as part of it. I had to start Balaji (Telefilms) again. I was Rs 75-80 lakh down at that time. All my father’s savings were gone. It hit me at that time that life is beyond partying. I decided to make another show with the little capital I had, which was Rs 2 lakh. I made a show called Hum Paanch. When I felt down, my dad asked me to just keep working. He said, ‘This too shall pass’. He believed in me. Nobody else did. Nobody thought I could do anything in life but he stood by me.
No to films
I didn’t have the body or the inclination to become an actress. On TV, I had to get the ratings before I could do another show, so the struggle taught me. If I had become an actress, I would probably have had it easier to take off but to stick on would have been tougher. I was too overweight and I didn’t want to lose weight. I didn’t know what to do. Sometimes when you have too many choices, you start to think that if plan A doesn’t work, then there is plan B. I had no choice. I had wasted my dad’s money. It was gone, so I had to get it back. The best thing god can give you is to give you fewer choices.
Her eureka moment
I believe every blessing is a curse and every curse is a blessing. Either you learn or you win. I think a situation should always be seen from one step back and be angled at a perspective to sort it and not to dwell on it. That is life’s eureka moment! If god gives a problem, then he gives a solution too.
A young ’un
I was too young for people to take me seriously. At 19, when I made Hum Paanch, people thought it was a fluke. When I was 23, I did a south Indian soap. Then, I had to show the ratings to the GECs so that I can make a drama because everybody thought I could only make comedies. It scared me so much that I didn’t make comedy again, although people tell me to make Hum Paanch again!
A woman’s world
If you start thinking that it’s a man’s world, you take two steps back. Whatever success I have got, I’ve got it in spite of being a woman and also because I am a woman. We are given the power of multi-tasking. We know how to do five things at one time because that is what we have done all our lives. Women have a way better understanding of problems. They won’t go to drink at a bar because things didn’t work out. Instead, we go back and work at it. We should never believe that it’s a man’s world. Men should think that it’s a woman’s world! (Smiles) On TV, most of the producers are woman and all the TV actresses rule the roost. Women run the industry. There are a few male writers. Most offices have creches and we have a women-friendly environment. There are fewer smoking rooms than creches.
TV is ghar ka khana
Each of us has a different side to us. One is the traditional side and the other is the wild side. Creatively, you get saturated if you don’t have an inspiration. Films gave me that. I made The Dirty Picture where I had a woman who was called an item girl, almost abused and looked down upon because she lived out her sexuality. I thought I wouldn’t be able to narrate the story on TV. Then came Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, which was based in Mumbai. It worked because it was a protege-mentor story about men. As stories came my way, I thought there is another medium to explore if they aren’t for TV. It is a creative need to explore. For me, films are like eating out because you like it once but TV is like ghar ka khana!
On censorship
When it’s TV, we value and honour that we enter people’s houses but the sensibility of an adult should have an understanding and she or he should be allowed to watch what they want to watch outside the house.
TV Vs films
In my shows, both protagonists and antagonists are female. It’s not about the gender. It’s the story. In films, the hero and the villain are male. We don’t ask why we made men look bad because we have been doing this for years. Since our stories are about women, the antagonists are also women. TV is about identification and aspiration. Films are more aspiration than identification. On TV, the hero is the heroine so that women can identify and aspire to have a man like that. On TV, the men are blondes and women are the ones who actually do things in the house. In movies, it’s the opposite where the hero does the job and the heroine has a great song.
It’s all Karma
To me, there is no philosophy bigger than karma. Your action has an equal and an opposite reaction. Your root should be strong. I believe in spirituality. I don’t meditate. I think a lot. My mind is active. I don’t know the art of switching off. My brother (Tusshar) told me to try meditation to get a lot of peace. I haven’t been able to control my mind to de-stress.
SNAPCHAT
Calcutta is: My fave city. If I go for a holiday, Calcutta is my first choice! I have shot Kasautii Zindagii Kay here, which was closest to my heart. I love Calcutta so much, that is why everything about the show was Bengali. We have done five to six schedules here. I will shoot more shows here. In Mumbai, everybody knows me as a closet Bengali.
No to politics: The best movers, shakers, thought-provokers and even social change-makers are not in politics because there you have to answer questions to various opposition parties, structures and red tapism.
‘K’ fixation: There were a lot of shows starting with ‘K’ and there were also many shows without ‘K’. It was a great brand. Anybody who saw a show starting with ‘K’ would know that’s our show, so it was our brand recall.
Weekend fun: I love theatre. I am obsessed with it. I watch it every weekend.
She misses: Meetha. It’s not that I have stopped it because if you see me, I don’t give up! (Smiles) If I had my way, then I would eat as much meetha and not put on weight. I lost weight because there were dresses that I couldn’t get into! On New Year’s Eve, I had to search for clothes.
Hooked to: Instagram. I am on Facebook for my school friends but I love Instagram.
Family comes first: When you see various roadblocks, you understand that your mom, dad, brother and a few friends should be at an arm’s length. That’s crucial. Neither should you cry nor fly if things don’t go well.
Up next: Half Girlfriend, Veere Di Wedding (films), Chandra Nandini, Naagin 2 and Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil (TV shows). I will also launch my app (mobile application) end of this year. It will be a content-based app, a hybrid between TV and films. It will show a little smarter content for urban India.
Fave song: Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana de (Baazi, 1951).
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