In Daddy’s Footsteps

Rangita Pritish-Nandy
Daughter of Pritish Nandy
It seems Rangita needed much less prodding to join Pritish Nandy Communications. “Eleven years ago,my father coaxed me into taking a look at what his company was doing. I was young,not ambitious,genetically blessed with some talent and just out of a bad relationship. Once I started checking out what my father did,I never left,” she says. Ever since,it’s been a challenge for Rangita,who does not consider herself to be a great producer. Hence,she prefers working alongside her father. “This isn’t a typical commodity production industry. This is the movie business. You get it wrong a million times before you get it right.” But over the years,she has learnt a lesson or two. “It’s not about getting it right every day. It’s about waking up each day and saying that today is the day you’re going to get it absolutely right. But then you get it absolutely wrong. Still,you wake up the next day saying you want to do this — bigger,stronger and sharper,” says Rangita,who has been at the helm of making movies like Jhankaar Beats and Pyar Ke Side Effects.

Pooja Shetty Deora
Daughter of Manmohan Shetty
Many a time,circumstances plan your career graph. Just the way it happened with Pooja. She joined the production business,when her father sold off Adlabs and started many simultaneous businesses. “That’s when Walkwater Media came into the picture. I somehow fitted in just right,” she says. Having her sister Aarti along was a dream run for her. “She had worked with directors like Shimit Amin,Ram Gopal Varma and Karan Johar in the past. Naturally,she helps with the creative aspects,” says Pooja,who concentrates more on the business aspect. Currently,Walkwater Media is co-producing Raajneeti. Soon,its lone venture,Tere Bin Laden,will hit the screens. “Following your father’s footsteps isn’t that difficult after all,especially when you have your vision right.”

Pooja Bhatt
Daughter of Mahesh Bhatt
Pooja may not have had a dream run as a director. But as a producer,she believes,she is better than her father. “I make films cheaper and faster than my dad ever did,” says Pooja,who has produced films like Jism and Paap. Although the veteran producer-director Mahesh owns a production company,Pooja never piggybacked on it. Instead,she decided to launch Fish Eye Network. “I had a certain vision for the company. And there were certain kind of movies that I wished to produce. I did not want to burden my dad. He already has too much on his shoulders,” says the 38-year-old,who produced her first,Tamanna,when she was just 26. “It doesn’t matter at what age you begin,on the sets,you need to know your job and show who the boss is,” says Pooja,who will be producing the sequel to Jism next.

Mansi Maroo
Daughter of Raman Maroo
As long as I am in this industry,whatever I do will be under the Shemaroo banner,” says Mansi,who believes that her father is still her guiding force. Even though Shemaroo is a family-owned company,it runs as a professional setup and Mansi is part of the film production division. “Movies is something I have grown up with. Apart from watching them,I have been quite abreast with the business of movies,” she says. After completing her education,Mansi worked in an advertising firm for nearly four years. Towards the end of that stint,she was looking for a change. That’s when Shemaroo was toying with the idea of starting a film production business. “I jumped right at it. It gave me the opportunity to bring my own perspective into this new initiative that we were setting up from scratch,” says Mansi,who has produced films like Manorama Six Feet Under and Ishqiya.