At this year’s People’s Choice Awards, draped in soft pink, Priyanka Chopra, let out an irresistible, shy victory wave, on being announced as the winner of the Favourite Dramatic TV Actress category. Amidst the standing ovation, one couldn’t miss the unforgettable, melt-your-heart, expression of triumph that erupted on Anjula Acharia Bath’s face, as she did a euphoric spring, next to a gloating Chopra.
Counted in the lists of Billboard International Power Player, Forbes Most Powerful Women, and ELLE’s #WomenInTech, 43-year old Anjula Acharia is not just the woman behind “the breakout star from India” – Priyanka Chopra, but among the most powerful, new age pop-culture creators of today. Rightly called as the “unstoppable force” in bridging the gap between technology, pop culture, and Hollywood.
An entrepreneur, investor, and now a full-time partner at Trinity Ventures, Acharia has always had her heart set on pulling South Asia into mainstream (Western) media and entertainment. And with PC claiming two People’s Choice Awards over the past 2 years, becoming a member of the Baywatch crew, slaying the red carpet at the Golden Globes, between singing alongside Pitbull, being featured in the National Football League, and becoming the brand ambassador for the iconic American fashion brand, GUESS – Acharya seems to have done more than just fine.
Growing up in the UK as the daughter of Punjabi immigrant parents, Acharia suffered during her school days, at the hands of gross misrepresentation of South Asian culture, in the West (and consequent bullying that accompanied such presumptions). The desire to break away from stereotypes, and reintroduce Desi culture, coupled with her husband’s serious love for mixing bhangra beats with Hip Hop, led the couple to start DesiHits! in the year 2006 (Los Angeles). Starting out as a side project, they developed DesiHits!, initially, as a podcast to create and mix, Bollywood and Indian fusion music (it later grew into a full-fledged content website about Indian, American celebrity news and music). The couple quit their jobs shortly when they were given the opportunity to raise their initial rounds of investment $ 6 Million, by Trident Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and American hedge fund, DE Shaw.
Acharia’s vision for creating a “dent” in the popular culture, was shared by Interscope Records head, Jimmy Iovine, who eventually came on board (along with Israeli venture capitalist, Aviv Nevo) as a mentor and investor, for the company, and Acharia personally. The company became a full blown media and entertainment outfit in the year 2010, in a Joint Venture with Universal Records, taking Acharia’s original vision of introducing western audiences, to South Asian artists, as part of mainstream media, to a dizzying level of execution (as proof, PC was signed the very same year by the company). Acharia by then had already organized a slew of successful Indian collaborations with international artists that included Britney Spears (with Sonu Nigam), Lady Gaga (with the Salim- Suleiman duo), and Rihanna (with Culture Shock).
She started out Priyanka Chopra with collaborations across the prominent music circuit, first with an English song release (In My City), and consequently, the Pitbull featured collaboration, Exotic. While Acharia had to work extremely hard to maneuver around both the Indian and American markets, which had wide differences from the way business functioned and the schedule of a supremely busy artist, the larger challenges had not yet emerged.
During an interaction at one of your typical Los Angeles styled evening entertainment circuit settings, Acharia bonded with Keli Lee (TV & Casting, at Disney, ABC TV) about the shift of pop culture towards TV, and desire to move away from all white crews, and promote talent from other cultures. This resonated with an earlier conversation with her mentor Iovine, about the growing importance of TV, demonstrated by soaring popularity of series such as House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Suits, among others. While Acharia emerged crystal clear with her vision on the next steps, it was altogether another challenge to convince a Bollywood big screen start to even consider TV. As discussed by Acharia in one her recent interviews with Mint, Lee apparently sent out over 25 scripts to Chopra, before the star decided to go with the character of Alex Parrish, falsely accused of committing a terrorist act on American soil.
Over the past decade, in addition to working on her own venture, Acharya has actively acquired the role of being a passionate mentor to budding startup founders, and has invested in companies herself, that include TheMuse.com (a career search site for well educated men and women in the age group 22-39), The Hunt (an online shopping portal), and more recently ClassPass (platform for booking gym memberships). She is most famous for her afternoon “Earl Grey Tea” sessions with entrepreneurs, tech co-founders, and media enthusiasts, where she animately discusses the latest in technology and entertainment.
Amidst her vibrant, affable, Instagram feed, Acharya, has posted a quote that reads – “What If I Fall? Oh, My Darling, What If You Fly?” She remains true to the words, not just by soaring the high skies with her stories of success, but also by giving flight to others, working as hard, under her mentorship.
Pics Courtesy: Pinterest/Elle, AnujaAcharia | Instagram/anjula_acharya | Twitter/anjulaacharia
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