Why she matters: Synonymous with melodramatic soap operas, her Balaji Motion Pictures ranks above all other production houses in India. And today, the queen of television has hitched her wagon to the OTT galaxy with ALTBalaji. Tusshar Kapoor, actor and brother of this doyenne of entertainment, spills the beans on her hidden side.
Ektaa has the knack for choosing the right actors and the right scripts, and she believes in calling a spade a spade. She’s often projected as this Machiavellian personality constantly plotting things, but that’s the biggest misconception about her. Everyone thinks of her as a tough taskmaster, but the reality couldn’t be more different. She’s soft-hearted, emotional and extremely creative, which is why she’s so successful! She’s also a fighter and a go-getter. She never gives up and always bounces back after a setback.
Her Hidden Benevolence
Her heart’s always in the right place. Not many are aware that a lot of actors who worked with her in television — especially many stars of the yesteryears — were senior citizens when they started working with her. She cast them not because they were required for the script, but simply because they were struggling actors out of work.
She’s also resurrected the careers of so many actors — including some former movie stars — by giving them plum roles in television . While on the face of it, she’s expressive about her feelings, unlike me, Ektaa will never talk about this side to her as she’s extremely private in nature. But I can vouch for this.
Love for Family
Ektaa also plays Santa Claus to our parents, always buying them gifts and planning their birthdays! She’s a doting aunt and spoils my son rotten. This is another side to her that doesn’t get highlighted enough. As siblings, growing up together, we fought a lot. It was always about which movie to watch at home, or which song to listen to in the car on our way to school.
There was a time we got into a huge fight and tore each other’s clothes during an outing in our car. We had to go back home to change! We’ve obviously matured now and there’s no such sibling rivalry between us. She’s a producer, and I’m an actor. We consciously don’t encroach upon each other’s space. There have been occasions where people have tried to create friction between us, but we smartly learned to rise above that.
In her workplace, Ektaa is more spontaneous and less organised. She tends to work in an unstructured manner. This is where I feel she needs to declutter her life! And it’s high time she focuses on herself and not just her work. A lot of her time is devoted to maintaining the empire she’s built. And as a brother, I want her to enjoy her life more!
To see who else is on the list, grab the copy of HELLO! India’s August 2023 issue right here!
- Quick links
- Ektaa Kapoor
- HELLO! 100 Most Influential
