Tell us a bit about yourself

I started my career in corporate. My first job was in one of the multinationals (MNC’s). From there I moved to western India for two years, where I was heading the region with the health insurance industry and then I came back and was the finance industry, Kotak Mahindra and then with the entertainment industry.

How did the idea of opening your own company come by?

I was in the entertainment industry for eight long years and had made a lot of contacts. With these social contacts I thought that I can do something differently on my own and with the help of my contacts I was able to acquire and from there the decision started. I forayed into the entertainment industry with Priya Entertainment.


How did you get in touch with Priya Entertainment given what you did earlier was so different?

Priya is actually a very old name. It was a family business and they wanted to grow and corporatise the entire thing. They wanted a change in their trend and looked around for professionals who would help them to grow. Priya wanted to be a house hold name. And that’s how I came in. I joined there as operations head but within three month’s time I became the general manager there. When I joined, Priya had only five screens including Priya Cinema and when I left, we had twenty-six screens. That is what me and the other team members did there. This growth took place within seven years.

 
Is it the reason you fell in love with the entertainment world?

No, my job in Priya was different. I never looked after their films. Priya is not just about film and entertainment. They also undertake government bodies and manage them. I looked after them. I am not a very close-celebrity person. As the GM of Priya, I over saw a couple of gatherings but I was never into them completely. I also handled the cricket match (Blue v/s Red) and it was a big event. It started during my tenure though it was initiated by Mr Dutta (Arijit Dutta)

 

How different is your job now as compared to when you had started?

I started my career with DHL. It was a hard core multinational, with the headquarter being in the USA. Still now I follow my initial training, their discipline, their rules and regulations. I worked there for seven years and it was a completely different experience. I believe, whatever I am today is because of the training I received there. It was my first love and I’ll never be able to forget my first job. I have been handling people for 14 years now. The leadership has changed a bit as I evolved as a person. In DHL, I had somebody to rest my soldiers on, here in my own company I don’t have that luxury. If I take a wrong decision it is a wrong decision


So is it advantageous in that way, running your own company?

It is a mixed thing, it is not an added advantage at all. It’s all your liability at the same time you gain a lot. That is also the reason why in my company I don’t take the decision alone. We have a team. It’s only the very important bit and a bit of financial thing that I solely decide upon. I allow my team to talk. I have three very senior people working with me, I also have juniors working along. It’s a culmination of their ideas that helps me a lot.

 
How difficult was it for you to leave a well settled job and open your own company? Were you scared at any point?

No, I was never scared of it at all. I won’t say I was sure of it either, but, I love taking challenges. I am a risk taker. In my previous company, everything was under me. After working there for seven years I realised that everything was just so well set, my job was getting over within four hours, I had nothing new to do. I was getting bored, so I moved out.  I never know how event management, which I an doing now, came into my mind. If you ask me I’ll not be able to tell you. I had never done event before, yes, I was in Priya, but I looked after the management and marketing, but this just came into my mind, and like I said, I am risk taker, so I started out with managing events.

 
I must say that you took a lot of freedom in changing f into ph (her company name spells phreedom 4 ever), is there a reason behind it?

 Yes. I was very sure that I am not going to work under anybody any more, that is the reason it's freedom for ever and I wanted to give more stress on the ‘ph’ part. ‘Ph’ is a double letter as compared to ‘F’, hence it has more weight and I wanted to give it more weight. This is also a first generation business, so I wanted to give myself a bit of confidence, maybe that is why I decided to go with a different form of freedom.

 
How was the reaction from your family when you told them about your decision?

Very scary. My parents were very hesitant. My husband on the other hand was fine with it, because he knows that I am very confident and throughout my career I have never failed. My husband was a great support to me.