It’s not true that someone born into a wealthy family doesn’t face the challenges that life has to throw at us. The struggle is an integral part of our life; without challenges, life is not worth the fight. The story I am about to narrate to you is of a man whose life has been filled with challenges and struggles at every step. Despite being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he carved his own destiny. He is an Indian actor, producer, entrepreneur, dreamer and philanthropist and he is known for his work in Telugu and Hindi cinema. His father, Jagdish Mohanlal Joshi, is the owner of the JMJ group of industries. He also owned the Dambulla franchise of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), the Dambulla Viikings.
I am talking about the multifaceted personality and business baron, Mr Sachiin Joshi, who owns Goa’s iconic Kingfisher Villa, now named King’s Mansion. Sachiin’s life has not been plain sailing despite the fact that he has everything to lead a luxurious life without much effort, but he chose to face life head-on and decided to carve his own niche in the business and entertainment world. Lots of people address him as a Gutka King, some call him a flamboyant personality and others address him as a celebrity, but the real question is, who is Sachiin? When I met him the first question I asked him was ‘Sachiin Joshi is a big name in the entertainment, hospitality and business industries, but we are still curious to know who the real Sachiin is. A dreamer, actor, filmmaker, hotelier, businessman or social worker?’ to which he replied that he’s always believed in achieving more than just doing things.
“I am aware that it’s very challenging most of the time since I am involved in multiple businesses which have been handed down to me but I’ve always had an inclination towards acting and stardom and the main challenge in front of me was to be the best in all these fields. My father looks at me as a businessman and I make sure that I never disappoint him but at the same time, I am also pursuing my passion in acting since it’s something that I have been part of since my childhood. The acting bug stung me when I was a kid. I lived just next to FTII (Film Television Institute of India) in Pune. We had a common wall between my house and the FTII. I have grown up as a student of FTII making films and that passion grew with me.”
Sachiin Ji, also wanted to be a sportsman but he did not get much support in that field from his family and he turned his focus on to business and the entertainment industry. “In business, I do multiple things and hospitality is something that has been very close to my heart. My family has been in the fragrance business for generations, and I always looked into diversifying whether it’s into hospitality, finance, fintech or agriculture and now we are expanding into real estate in a very big way. Cinema has been my passion and business, my bread and butter. I started the journey into the film industry from the south, and then I moved to Bollywood.”
When I asked him about his privileged upbringing, he replied saying “It’s just the perception of the people and I do not want to change that, but my answer is very simple- the grass always looks greener on the other side. Every one of us has our own story, but mine has been like a duck in a pond where we see the calmness above water but ignore the frantic and constant paddling underwater. Similarly, you can’t see the struggle of another person by looking at his success alone. Coming back to the perception of being born with a silver spoon, I want to say that being born into privilege doesn’t mean we aren’t affected with hardship. I cannot compare the struggle and challenges that my father has been through, but I had my own set of challenges, whether they were with business or cinema and then the added pressure of being born into wealth. Talent and hard work cannot be brought by money, being successful is one thing and staying successful is another. As I said earlier, I have seen my father’s struggle in business and people are not aware of that. Instead, what they see today is only his success but the struggle behind that success is only experienced by me and my family.”
Speaking about his first venture “Viiking Ventures” Sachiin ji said that “My father started with the JMJ brand dealing with essential oils and fragrance industry but I decided to branch out in multiple ventures since I believe that I must change the perception of the world towards us, and this is where Viiking Ventures comes into existence. All the diversification into the field of hospitality, fintech, finance and agriculture started with the Viiking Ventures. It all started from scratch and today after 20 years, it is the successful business everyone knows today.”
Speaking on the Goa connection and his Goa Gutka brand, Sachiin ji said that his father owned a brand in Goa for which he had to fight a legal battle which he won and from that, the brand ‘Goa Gutka’ was born. “My father was not a businessman: he was more like a scientist and his specialty was to provide the technical know-how into the tobacco space in the FMCG market. Everyone today recognises that business with tobacco since it became so big. He has not just provided his technology knowledge of essences, flavours and fragrance to the tobacco industry but he also provided the same to masalas like the Everest brand besides providing it to the other FMCG companies in India. He was skilled in the creation of flavours and essences, but Goa Gutka is one of the most popular products. Although we owned that brand, it was sold in early 2000 itself and my father remained on the board as technical advisor to them. This is the big difference between perception and reality which I am sharing today here with you.”
My next question to Sachiin ji was about his entry into the hospitality industry, as he owns one of Goa’s biggest hospitality brands, Planet Hollywood Hotels and Resorts. He told me that Planet Hollywood was not his first brand and his entry into this field began with the homegrown brand, Beatle. “It was our first hospitality venture which was started in the year 2008 and we had acquired quite a lot of properties in India so this way Planet Hollywood Beach Resort, Goa becomes our second property. The third one has opened recently in Thane and 4 more hotels we will be setting up soon. The Planet Hollywood brand is owned by Mr Robert Earl who has been very close to the Hollywood industry with many actors who were also investors in his company. Today they have more than six properties and are adding more than 20 hotels to their portfolio and the India hotels are taken care of by us,” he said.
Speaking on the presence of Hollywood stars at the launch of the Planet Hollywood brand in Goa Sachiin ji said, it was done to build a proper perception of the brand just like it was built in Hollywood. “Of course, we could not name it Planet Bollywood,” he said grinning “The Planet Hollywood brand is synonymous with the stars and it’s all about entertainment, glitz and glamour and since I had my Bollywood connections, my friends there also graced the property and hence it became popular. I would just say that it was the right PR strategy at the right time.”
Speaking on the expansion of the hospitality brand he said that his company is not looking at expansion in a big way by taking over the property on management basis. “Currently we have two properties under the Planet Hollywood brand and two more we will be opening soon and as far as the Beatle brand goes, it is a boutique business hotel while Planet Hollywood is a luxury hotel.”
Regarding controversies, Sachiin said “Nobody wants to be the subject of controversies but sometimes you really cannot help it! I seem to attract controversies and the main reason behind this is that I’m an honest and straight forward person and some don’t really like that. But as the saying goes – all’s well that ends well – and with God’s grace everything is going good with me and future looks bright,” he narrated.
When I asked him about philanthropy, Sachiin ji said that it comes naturally to him, “Some people talk about it and some don’t like to publicize it. Me and my family have always been a part of charities and while growing up I have witnessed it. The only thing is that we have not spoken about it in public domain. But soon I realised that it is important to speak about good causes in the public domain and I am talking from experience: the more you talk about a charity, the more people will donate and the more attractive it becomes. I would like to give an example of Bill Gates who has pledged a major chunk of his fortune to charitable causes and I also would like to mention our very own home-grown Ratan Tata Ji here who has given his entire fortune to charitable causes. These people inspire me to do the same and if I can in any capacity, I will. According to me, one cannot be successful without contributing to the world. The bottom line is that the most important thing is being human since humanity is key and with charity you get that satisfaction.”
When I asked him about the secret of his fitness he said “According to me, if someone has the time to eat, they should make time to get or remain fit too because the fitter you are better your mind frame is so you can then do more and be a better person. I think fitness is more important than anything else.”
“Today everybody wants to be successful, and everyone expects extraordinary results in their life but if you want such results, you also need to do extraordinary things. If you take calculated risks you will achieve what you want but there is no substitute to hard work. It’s only hard work and effort that will equal success. You need to think out of the box, and you need to do more than the ordinary and then you will get the results. I want to tell everyone to put your honest foot forward, put in hard work and efforts and utlise your time well. Lastly, instead of learning from your own mistakes learn from the mistakes of others too then nobody can stop you and you will keep growing.”
About Sachiin Joshi
Sachiin Joshi was born in Pune to Jagdish Mohanlal Joshi, owner of the JMJ group of industries. He made his debut in the 2002 Telugu film Mounamelanoyi and went on to star in two more Telugu films, Ninu Chudaka Nenundalenu (2002) and Orey Pandu (2005). He did not appear in films again until 2011, when he performed as the titular lead character in the Hindi film Aazaan, which he also co-produced. This marked his debut in Hindi films. Joshi returned to Tollywood with the remake of Aashiqui 2, titled Nee Jathaga Nenundali, and reprised the role played by Aditya Roy Kapur in the Hindi version. He co-starred with Nazia Hussain, who made her debut in Aashiqui 2. Joshi was also a lead in the 2013 film Jackpot, in which he starred opposite Sunny Leone and Naseeruddin Shah. In February 2012, Joshi married model and actress Urvashi Sharma who later changed her name to Raina Joshi. The couple are parents to three children.
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