Rohinton Soli Screwvala, better known as Ronnie Screwvala, is an Indian entrepreneur. He is a pioneer of cable television in India and is considered one of India’s most influential businessmen. He has been one of the leading Indian investors in early-stage technology and new economy companies. Being a jack of all trades, Screwvala is the Founder of UTV Software Communications, Chairman and Co-Founder of Upgrade, filmmaker, philanthropist, author and one of the biggest names in film production and distribution.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ronnie Screwvala was born on Saturday, 8 September 1956 (age 65 years; as in 2021) in Bombay, Maharashtra (now known as Mumbai). He did his schooling from Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai and graduated from Sydenham College. While studying at university in Mumbai, Screwvala wanted to become an entrepreneur; However, her parents had a different plan for her. They wanted him to study accountancy in Britain. Talking about his passion in an interview, he said,
Everyone [in India] I believed that if you didn’t get a good job, you only wanted to be an entrepreneur,”
He was interested in theater and drama when he was in school and also performed plays professionally with Bombay Theater as a hobby.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 11″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Ronnie Screwvala sitting inside his house
Family
parents and siblings
Ronnie Screwvala belongs to a Parsi family. He comes from an ordinary background with lower-middle class status. His father worked as an executive at the British firms JL Morrison and Smith & Nephew. His parents now live in a separate apartment just below his apartment. Recalling the old days, he said in an interview
My parents used to play cards on Saturdays. , , All friends will come forward. So it was like a huge Parsi gathering. , , And the value system kind of starts creeping in.”
wife and children
Ronnie married Manjula Nanavati, daughter of Suresh Nanavati, chairman of Nanavati Hospitals, in Mumbai. The couple welcomed their daughter and named her Trishya Screwvala. Trishya runs a non-profit organization, The Lighthouse Project, and married sports commentator Suhail Chandhok on 19 January 2017. Ronnie and Manjula divorced, after which Screwvala married Zarina Mehta. Zarina is the co-founder of UTV and co-trustee of their philanthropic foundation, The Swades Foundation.
Ronnie Screwvala with his wife Zarina and daughter Trishya
religion/religious views
Ronnie Screwvala belongs to the Parsi community and follows Zoroastrianism. In an interview he talked about his views on the Parsi community and said,
Parsi culture is certainly one of strong business acumen, high morality and an element of philanthropy.”
Address
Breach Candy, South Mumbai, Maharashtra
livelihood
entrepreneur
Ronnie Screwvala is a smart entrepreneur and has a lot of accomplishments under his belt. He started by starting a company ‘Laser’ which manufactured toothbrushes, which is now the largest in the country and produces around 6 million brushes per month for most of the major toothbrush brands in India. He introduced home shopping in India with Tele-Shopping Network (TSN) and is also known for introducing cable television in India in 1981. He went on to establish United Studios, South Asia’s leading studio and animation complex.
utv
Screwvala incorporated UTV Group in 1990 and diversified it into a leading film studio, games studio and a creative content company. It went public and was listed on the stock exchange in 2005. In 2008, The Walt Disney Company acquired a 15 percent stake in UTV Global Broadcasting for Rs. 118.98 crore, making it the largest foreign investment in India, followed by the acquisition of 32.1 percent in parent UTV Software Communications Limited for Rs 805.05 crore. In 2012, Screwvala sold the entire company to WDC. This made him a global name in the media industry.
Swades Foundation
Ronnie is the co-founder of Swades Foundation with his wife Zarina. The initiative aims to lift one million people out of poverty, with the main focus being on livelihood opportunities. It is currently active in Maharashtra, working on water, sanitation, health and education in 2000 villages across a 3000 sq km concentrated geography in Raigad.
upgrade
Screwvala took the opportunity to explore the uncharted territories of the education sector and co-founded India’s largest online education company called UpGrad in 2015. It is a higher education learning platform that offers programs in the areas of data science, technology and. Management for college students, working professionals and enterprises. UpGrad is in collaboration with universities like IIT Madras, IIIT-B, BITS Pilani, MICA, Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education etc.
Founder of Upgrade (Ronnie Screwvala in the middle)
ussports
Screwvala co-founded USports focusing on three areas, eSports, eSports and football. USports has an initiative called UDreams, which helps in professional training of children in these sports to enable them to perform at the international level.
Unilaser Ventures
Unilazer Ventures was incorporated by Screwvala as a private equity company that invests in Indian new economy companies and start-ups, with significant minority stake in early-stage investments that bring their entrepreneurial skills to the companies. . Unilaser has invested in a wide range of industries from e-commerce to India’s leading online eyewear company Lenskart and from AI and bots to agriculture and micro-housing finance.
rsvp movies
Screwvala re-entered the media and film industry with RSVP Movies. The main objective is to focus on developing your own script.
the creator
film
Screwvala has produced dozens of mainstream blockbusters, indie films of all genres and contemporary Bollywood classics. Some of Ronnie’s notable performances include Swades (2004), Rang De Basanti (2006), Chup Chup Ke (2006), Jodha Akbar (2008), Paan Singh Tomar (2010), Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) . and The Sky is Pink (2019).
Television
Ronnie also starred in some successful television shows like Shanti (1994–98), Shaka Laka Boom Boom (2000–04), Khichdi (2002–04), Shararat (2003–07), Hero – Bhakti Hi Shakti Hai (2005– is constructed. 07), etc.
Author
Ronnie Screwvala is an author and has written the books Dream with Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey, Skill It, Kill It: Up Your Game, and Dream with Your Eyes Open 101: Practical Questions Every Entrepreneur Must Ask. Screwvala has shared his insights, his experiences and knowledge through these books.
Ronnie Screwvala’s book Skill It Kill It
Dream With Your Eyes Open by Ronnie Screwvala
Not limited to just books. Ronnie has also tried to impart some of his knowledge to the youth through his articles, such as ‘The growing sense of self-reliance in India is a welcome change, but not without the Triple E Highway – Education, Entrepreneurship and Employment’, ‘Changing Concepts like ‘Online Learning,’ and ‘Live life on your own terms and other lessons for my daughter.’
controversies
- Ronnie Screwvala’s new film, Captain India, ran into controversy when it was revealed that another film, Operation Yemen, was based on the same plot and was in the making.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Named to Esquire’s list of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century
- Ranked 78th in the Time 100 of the 100 most influential people in the world (compiled by Time Magazine, 2009)
- Nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Non-English Film – Rang De Basanti
- Won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award at the National Film Awards (2007) for Rang De Basanti
- Won the Best Film Award at the Filmfare Awards (2007) and IIFA Awards (2007) for Rang De Basanti.
- Won Best Film Award by Filmfare Awards (2009) and IIFA Awards (2009) for Jodhaa Akbar
- Won Best Film Award by Filmfare Awards (2013) and IIFA Awards (2013) for Barfi!
net worth
Ronnie Screwvala ranked 188th in IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020 with a net worth of Rs 6,500 crore.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Ronnie Screwvala is a dog lover and has a pet dog named Sprite, which is a Labrador.
- A little-known fact about Screwvala is that he started a theater production company and secured a role as a teen presenter on India’s only national TV station.
- Ronnie suffered a loss of Rs. Rs 30 crore with its investment in the action-packed, modern-day superhero saga starring Vicky Kaushal. The film required a huge amount of money and in the producer’s opinion, it would not be able to earn that much even in non-Covid times, so he decided to put it on hold.
- He played notable roles in Shakespeare’s Othello and Death of a Salesman as he was always interested in acting and drama.
- He has a large carved chessboard in his house and enjoys playing chess with Bollywood star Aamir Khan. Speaking about this in an interview, Ronnie said,
I know how to play chess. Sometimes my daughter and I do that, or when Aamir comes over, she and I play, but I haven’t beaten Aamir yet, so that’s a bad thing.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn