By backing quality content, Mundra has emerged as indie cinema's ray of hope, while he heads a petrochemicals company in Nigeria
Image: Joshua Navalkar
The Tuesday after Ankhon Dekhi released in India in March 2014, the film’s lead Sanjai Mishra, co-actor, writer and director Rajat Kapoor, and producer Manish Mundra went for the 10.45 pm show at PVR, Juhu, in suburban Mumbai. Made on a budget of ₹7 crore, the movie was being screened at the multiplex along with the acclaimed Kangana Ranaut-starrer Queen and the bold Ragini MMS 2. “Ours was the most expensive ticket of the three, but in no time, the show was houseful,” claims Mishra. The trio then sat on the steps inside the theatre to gauge the audience reaction. At the end of the film, says Mishra, people clapped in unison, following which Mundra held his hand and said: “I can now tell my father that I put my money in the right place.”
The critically appreciated Ankhon Dekhi marked Mundra’s foray into the Indian film industry as an independent producer; Mundra is also the CEO (Africa) and MD of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals in Nigeria, a company he joined in 2002.
Since then, he has backed movies like Masaan (2015), Waiting (2016), Umrika (2016), Dhanak (2016) and the soon-to-be-released Newton (September 22) and Kadvi Hawa (November 24) through his production house, Drishyam Films, that he founded in 2014.
And 2017, in particular, began on a high for Mundra: While Dhanak won the National Award for Best Children’s Film, Kadvi Hawa received a Special Mention at the National Film Awards this year. The 44-year-old is, naturally, thrilled with the laurels. “It [this honour] gives some sort of satisfaction, assures us that we are on the right track and motivates us to do more,” says Mundra.
It has been a remarkable ride for Mundra, who, as a child, sold fruit juices on the streets after school hours to help his family make ends meet. He was born in Deoghar, Jharkhand, to a Marwari family that traditionally traded in tobacco and tendu leaves. However, the family fell upon tough times after Mundra Senior suffered financial losses, and had to take on a lot of debt. That was when nine-year-old Mundra, the third of five siblings, took on the responsibility of helping his mother run the house by hawking on the streets.
After clearing his ICSE from St Francis School in Deoghar, he realised the importance of education in one’s professional journey. So, he relocated to his grandfather’s house in Jodhpur and pursued his graduation in commerce, and subsequently did his MBA from the University of Jodhpur. Around this time, his entrepreneurial ambitions began taking root, but he was aware that sufficient capital was integral to running a business. He entertained thoughts of taking up a salaried job and saving money to fulfil his dreams.
A campus placement with the Aditya Birla Group brought him to Mumbai and led to successful stints with various group companies in different parts of the country. Thereafter, he left India to join the Lohia-promoted Indorama in Nigeria and that’s when, he believes, his growth story really began.
(This story appears in the 15 September, 2017 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)