Siddharth Roy Kapur's script for success

He is suave, extremely articulate, and in what comes as a welcome surprise for someone of his stature, Siddharth Roy Kapur is  unassuming. Quite the media-savvy person, UTV’s top honcho sat down for a tête à tête with DNA, opening up about how he got to his current position, what makes him tick in the mad, mad world of Bollywood and what he does to cool off when the madness gets to him.

My journey to the top:
I’ve lived almost all of my life in Mumbai and so you can call me a Mumbai-bred through and through. I did my graduation from Sydenham College and then did an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj institute. My association with UTV goes as far back as 1994 when I did my summer internship with them.

I was barely 20 years old then and UTV was a fledgling company with a garage for an office. I remember we used to make in-flight entertainment clips then. The most memorable thing about my stint then was working under Ronnie (Screwvala). I found him inspirational, I mean, the sense of energy, commitment and passion he has for his job.

I told myself then that if we crossed paths again, I would come back to UTV. I continued to keep in touch with Ronnie and then some years later, when I was working in Hong Kong for Star Plus, we met and he told me about his plan to start a  studio set-up and offered me a job.

At that point of time, I was in a place where I knew that if I didn’t return to India then, I would never return and so I decided to come back. Today, in retrospect, with all the successes we have achieved, I feel like I’ve never been away.

The loyalty factor:
I’ve been with UTV for over seven years now. Yes, at a time when you have people quitting at the drop of the hat, staying at a place for so long might come across as an anachronism.

But more than loyalty, which I think is a limited word and gives one the perception that you are sticking on only to get a gold watch at the end of 20 years (laughs), there’s a sense of responsibility and a feeling of ownership that comes when you hold a job for a dignified period of time.

It’s really about loving your job:
Working in the movies is not exactly a 9to5 job. It comes with a new set of challenges everyday, and so you’ve got to absolutely love what you are doing here, else you will just burn out. Currently, I am just enjoying every single day of my life at work and that’s why I can’t stress enough why it’s important to do what you love.

Life outside work:
It might sound clichéd but what I enjoy doing most outside work is watching movies! Besides that, I like catching up with friends with whom I can just be myself. And on Sundays,  having a lunch with my parents and brothers is sacrosanct.

I also love travelling and try to take off when I can. I’m not the adventurous, backpacking sort of a traveller. I am someone who doesn’t believe in planning ahead of a trip. All I do is book tickets and land in a country and then what I do there is quite impromptu.

All the world’s a stage:
I love theatre. So, every time I am in New York or London, I make it a point to visit Broadway and West End respectively to watch musicals. An interesting memory I have is how, while visiting New York as a student, I’d go to Broadway everyday and pay 20 dollars to stand and watch the musicals because that is all I could afford back then.

Talking about my favourite musicals, while I have watched them all — from The Phantom of the Opera to Cats and Les Misérables, I think Rent is one of my all-time favourites because it has moved me the most.

What’s on my bucket list:
I have to confess I have the habit of making a bucket list at the start of every year, and I give it a once-over, once a week to see if I am on course or not. Now, while it is a little too personal to share what’s on top of the bucket list right now (laughs), I’ll say the wildest thing that I would like to do is to get back to directing in theatre someday.