always felt like we had travelled to a whole new world
because their lifestyle was so different from ours. I
feel that in Mumbai, everyone has a broad view and
this captivated my mind and led me to come here
to fulfi l my dreams.
BUSINESS BASICS
My grandfather was the proprietor of the Kamla Circus,
named after my grandmother. My mother wanted me
to take over after he retired. But I was on a different
track, I knew what I wanted to do and that was
produce fi lms.
I started my own production house KriArj
Entertainment Pvt Ltd along with my business partner
Arjun N Kapoor. But I owe much of my success to
Akshay Kumar sir. He is the one who brought me into
this industry. Even though I was a complete outsider,
he believed in me and said ‘yes’ to ‘Rustom’. That’s
how my journey in the fi lm industry began. The fi lm
was a huge success and I feel so blessed. I also
worked with Akshay sir on ‘Toilet – Ek Prem Katha’
and ‘Padman’.
After ‘Rustom’ and ‘Toilet – Ek Prem Katha’, I
realized that the audience enjoyed fi lms that had
quality, substance and intelligence. That’s why I am
working towards changing the trend in fi lms. People’s
mindsets are changing and you have to give them
what they want. You can’t keep making biopics, the
audience will get bored.I was a complete
outsider, Akshay Kumar
sir believed in me and
said ‘yes’ to ‘Rustom’.
That’s how my journey
in the film industry
began. The film was
a huge success and I
feel so blessed.
With Farah KhanWith team ‘Rustom’At Dior’s eventSAVVY DECEMBER 2017 22