Ekta Kapoor is often considered a pioneer when it comes to Indian television and a pioneer in the genre of shows she has given. She has turned it around but in a recent interview, Ekta spoke about a pivotal moment early in her life when Rajinikanth visited her home. She revealed that she got a break because of the legendary actor.
He noticed that she seemed depressed, so he asked her what was bothering her. “Once, Rajinikanth came to my house for lunch. He is a good friend of my father. He saw that I was feeling upset. When he asked me what I wanted to do, I said, ‘I just want to work.’ I was upset because I had no work. He liked it. Then he said, ‘Okay, I can help you arrange a meeting with someone, and nothing more.'”
“”This meeting turned out to be a turning point. Rajinikanth linked her to Kalanidhi, granddaughter of M.
Karunanidhi. “After that meeting, he offered me a show from South India in the off-prime time. However, they wondered how someone from North India could handle a show from South India. We had to buy slot machines. We wrote the show in Hindi, sent my team to shoot with local actors, and the show became number one. I then used the TRPs as a guide and started getting opportunities in Indian television,” recalls Ekta.Building on this success, she later adapted the same concept into Hindi as ‘Ghar Ek Mandir’, which helped her gain a foothold in the industry.
Her big break came when she premiered ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ on Star Plus, a show that would redefine Indian television and cement her legacy.Although her entry was facilitated by her father Jeetendra’s friendship with Rajinikanth, Ekta rejected any notions of nepotism, describing them as “non-existent”.In a previous podcast with Usha Kakade Productions, she also revealed a personal reason why she started her career so early.
“When I was 17, I was always going out with friends, walking around and going to college. So, my father told me that I should either focus on my studies or do some work. Otherwise, he said he would marry me. It scared me so much that I felt I had to start working. It was as if my father had hung a sword over my head,” she said.Ekta admitted that she was not ready for marriage at that stage and simply wanted to enjoy life. She added: “I was enjoying life a lot. Sometimes I would party, sometimes I would travel. At 18 years old, who wanted to get married? I was like I didn’t want to get involved in all of this. I wanted to work, and even later I continued working and never got married.”
