“A Malayali by birth and a true Chennaite by spirit, I have lived all my 30 years of life in Chennai.
Fourteen years of schooling at Church Park gave me an introduction to the world of extracurricular activities and sports, alongside mainstream academics. The exposure and opportunities I got at school shaped me, for what is to come. I completed my Electronic Media which gave me a formal introduction to the media and marketing space.
My father hated cinema, he thought it was a waste of money. Maybe it is that repression during growing years; that pushed me to love the medium of cinema as I grew up and found my own footing. This attraction towards cinema led me to join 2D Entertainment as a part time intern when I was 19.
There started my love and interest in cinema. That is the age most of us dabble multiple things to find out what we’re good at. And in one such attempt, I joined a marketing agency where I was handling promotions for films. This job wonderfully merged a few of my interests – films, marketing and writing.
Soon after, I started my own venture BeatRoute to explore this exciting professional world all on my own. This was in the year 2016.
Leaving a stable job to start a business is always a risk. But to some it’s more than others. I had the benefit and privilege of a supporting family – parents and two older brothers who fiercely supported me in my ventures. With nervous excitement I began handling promotions for films.
Starting a business, I would say, is the easier part. Running it is the most difficult aspect. While you’re small, you are a part of every aspect of your business.
From meeting the clients, to handling their social media, to actively sitting with the designers to get the designs executed. But as you grow and your team and clientele grow, the challenges grow too.
There’s an unexpected quitting from a teammate. There’s a disgruntled client about a job not done to their satisfaction, there’s a rogue news article you have to firefight and the challenges go on and on. Some days you feel like the only thing you ever do is crisis management.
Any entrepreneur who says they haven’t considered taking up a salaried job over business would be lying. I’ve thought about it too.
But beyond those thoughts and moments of doubt, the conviction to do something big, to do something different, to shine bright have pushed me forward.
On the personal front, I met Sudhir in 2018 in a film event. He asked me out soon after. Over the course of a year of dating, I realised how supportive and encouraging he was of my vision and how kind his worldview was. I decided that I needed a partner who would give me that stability and calm while also strongly supporting my dreams. I’m glad I married him. We have a 1.8 year old beautiful daughter named Vanya who has changed our world further.
I never thought running a business was impossible. There were challenges, but I got a kick out of dealing with them. But having a kid, phew, that’s a whole different ball game, especially as a business woman.
The days are long and the nights are even longer and I spent everyday wondering how women did this 8 times, 10 times in their life a couple of generations ago.
But now that I am a mother, my worldview has changed a lot. My empathy has grown and my ability to compartmentalise is at an all time high.
If there’s one piece of advice I would give anyone, solicited or unsolicited; it would be to keep Sundays as “family time”. No meetings. No catch ups with friends. No zoom calls. To spend that day with family – I have always done this. Right from my single days to now with my daughter. That one day of calm, quiet, cooking and board games will centre you like no other, amidst all the hustle of work.
Only 33% women work in India as against 77% men. So we know for a fact that most industries have more men than women. Add to that, pressures such as marriage, childbirth, lack of solid maternity leave practices etc.
The world creates more and more situations for women to quit the workforce. But we have seen that women make fantastic leaders, fantastic team players and fantastic decision makers. If only given a chance.
My hope is that, sooner rather than later, we see more women taking up business and cinema and shining through. My dream for the women of Gen Z would be the same – to have a sense of purpose to grow as a society to improve the balance for the next generation.”