The Czarina of the television industry with a slew of successful serials, she has consistently stuck her neck out when it comes to producing films. The only woman helming her own vast Bollywood movie production house, Ekta Kapoor is a go-getter, a canny businessperson, a dreamer, a doer and more. Here’s an insight into her thinking, via her own tell-it-like-it-is statements…

Daring content

“Television is a very simplified, non-questioning medium. We can be progressive on television, but we can't be radical on television. This is the problem I have with the liberals, the so-called thinkers. Which movie has dealt with the subject of transgender? Transgenders have been represented on television and that too on a very successful show. We took on the issue of marital rape in ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’. But clearly, you see the saree, the make-up, the melodramatic treatment.”

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A baby named Balaji

“A few days ago, I dropped by Karan Johar’s to meet his twins (Yash and Roohi) who are adorable. He turned around and told me, “Ekta, you do not look like you are interested in getting married. How about having a baby?” But Balaji is my baby. I do not think that a woman is complete only with a child. I might be above 40 but I am not ready for motherhood.”

Business sense

“I am not equipped to weather big losses because I don’t sell my films to multi-national companies. I seem like a quasi-studio, but in reality, I am actually a production house that made money on television. I don’t have international backing. A flop affects me more and I don’t have the sustaining power to wait for four-five years to cover my losses. I can’t write off my losses even for a year.”

Female-centric films

“We are constantly told, 'It's a good film but female-oriented films don't work.' So, these daddies and uncles of the industry tell me this and they think that such a film will never get an audience and they think that it's okay if I am backing it like it's some charity. It makes me more determined in my resolve to make the film work to prove them wrong.”

Fighting double standards

“I don't want to fall into categories. Honestly, we will never shy away from sex and sexual content, and I have no interest in being put on a pedestal because the first thing that comes with it is the fear of being pulled down…These are double standards I fight all the time. We have a problem with sex, but we don't have a problem with sexual crimes.”