Q You started off as an actress, but
soon after your marriage with businessman Raj Kundra, we saw you venturing out
in a lot of businesses. What caused the sudden shift of interest as today more
than movies we see you delving into commerce?
Woh kehte hai na ‘sangat ka asar Hai’
(laughs). Well frankly it was Raj who opened my eyes and so I have to give him
full credit for what I am today. He saw me endorse a lot of other brands and
made me understand that instead of promoting other brands, why not come up with
my own brands! This is when I thought about coming up with something of my own.
So, for my first project I took to exploring my ‘love’, which for fitness and
that is how I launched the yoga DVD (in 2008). After getting some confidence I
delved into wellness and launched IOS is Spa from here on there was no looking
back and I enjoyed the journey as a businesswoman.
If we talk about something more
recent, I launched my own channel online (The Shilpa Shetty.com). In this day
and age, I feel people have no time to buy DVDs or watch TV. The audience needs
everything at a click of a button and on the phones, which is why I took to
exploring the digital medium. Here, I have gone beyond yoga and I am
concentrating on health as a whole.
Q How are women when it comes to
numbers and finance?
Terrible! (Laughs) I don’t know
about others, but I am really bad at it. My dad (Surendra Shetty) used to
handle all the finances for me. After his death, it’s all suddenly thrust upon
me. I am taking time to learn as I realized that I have to become a little more
street smart and have to learn to do things on my own.
Q You have been an inspiration to
many, name the women entrepreneurs who inspire you?
Vandana Luthra (founder of VLCC Health Club), I feel she’s a
torch bearer. Kiran Shaw (chairman and managing director of Biocon Limited) she
is brilliant. Even Shahnaz Husain (CEO of Shahnaz Herbals Inc.) I feel Shahnaz
has really made an empire for herself and that too way before ‘women’ could
even think of doing something as big as what she ventured into. Basically, I
like women who are trend setters and do things before time.
Q Do you think actresses of the
current generation are sharper and bolder as compared to the earlier
generations? From exploring various ventures, to turning producers and even
making a mark in Hollywood, they are going all out!
I think it’s a welcome change.
Heroines today are no longer relegated to doing just song and dance in movies.
Cinema is really coming of age. And it’s wonderful to see women now commanding
as much as their male counterparts if not more than them at times (in terms of
fees).
Q Times have changed in Bollywood
for women, yet actresses are facing issues like the ‘gender pay gap’. You have
been a film producer; how can the problem be curbed?
