Words matter. These are the best Ronnie Screwvala Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
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.
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.
When something becomes a business, 50% of your decisions are what you have to do and not what you want to do.
Without appearing smug in any way, I would say I did not have a role model. I wish I had but I did not.
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.
A good beginning is like a honeymoon; it gets over soon. The challenge is in keeping up the momentum.
When I set up UTV, my ambitions were quite low.
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.
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.
In a country like India, we need to solve problems at scale.
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.
I play chess with the computer when I feel dull in my mind and after two games – ‘out or win’, I feel sharp again.
There is no typical day and I intend to keep it that way for the next 20 years.
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.
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.
Parsee culture is definitely one of strong business acumen, high ethics, and an element of philanthropy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We need to find a different word for ‘skills’, which to most people sounds very basic.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
UTV’s uniqueness is that it is an integrated media company.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
I have learnt as an entrepreneur that the formidable opponent you can have is someone who has nothing to lose.
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.
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.
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.
