DARE - Because Entrepreneurs Do

If Vincent Van Gogh had viewed his extraordinary creations as a means of livelihood, imagine how radically different his life would have been. He lived for his art per se, and, the uncertainty of his next meal made little difference to him.

Ironically, Van Gogh’s legendary paintings were not able to sustain him during his own lifetime.

Convinced that creative icons such as Van Gogh are at one end of the spectrum, professional singer Manisha Joshi feels, “While I may be right-brain dominant, I don’t think my right and left brain abilities are like chalk and cheese. I am passionate about music. I have also tried to logically figure out how I can make a living from my music”.

More and more people like Manisha are blending their creative juices with latent left-brained abilities of analysis and practical thinking, thus, heralding an inspiring age of creative entrepreneurship. This article, profiling five creative entrepreneurs, is dedicated to all those who indulge in some form of creativity on weekends but would like to, longer.

After receiving eleven awards for his debut film Riding Solo to the Top of the world, we wondered why film-maker Gaurav Jani would need a promotional tour at all. At his promotional screening in Bengaluru, Gaurav revealed that his journey since 2006 as an independent film-maker has been as uphill as pushing his bike up some difficult terrains while filming Riding Solo.

	Manisha Joshi with music composer husband Milind
While I may be right-brain dominant, I don’t think my right and left brain abilities are like chalk and cheese. I am passionate about music. I have also tried to logically figure out how I can make a living from my music Manisha Joshi Professional Singer

This made every marketing effort inevitable. “Funding was taking very long as everyone I approached wanted to see my travel plan first. But an exploratory travel like the one I had in mind couldn’t be planned. Spurred to take up “Light, Camera, Action” all by myself, I borrowed a camera to make a 10-minute specimen film! But the journey got me carried away and I pursued 70 days of travel right up to the remotest Changthang plateau in 2006”.

Having directed, scripted, shot, edited and even narrated the film all by himself, Gaurav’s creative mind was realistic about keeping it lean all the way. “Dirt Track Productions operates from a go-down and we are a two-member team. Documentary films, unlike feature films see very slow recovery. And we wanted it marketed by those who had conviction in its content. So we innovatively distributed our films by investing in our website www.dirttrackproductions.com, with a payment gateway,” Gaurav adds.

Gaurav self belief “Deliver good work and the money will follow” revved his first film to success. “Word spread when it got nominated at Mumbai International Film festival and people that have bought my film have arranged promotional screenings; at my forthcoming US tour, they have arranged as many as 20 screenings”. Over a clash of background score, Gaurav had to turn down an offer by National Geographic.

Having given up a relatively cushy job as assistant director to acclaimed film director Ram Gopal Verma, Gaurav combined his love for motorbike riding and exploration by tying them enterprisingly into the creation of documentary films. “I become a better film-maker through my screenings as the audience gives me an honest opinion of shortcomings”. This struggling entrepreneur is uncompromising only on two counts: about creating a stage-managed exploratory film similar to most reality shows today and about getting into mainstream films.

When 8 out of 10 of my clients like being in the house, apartment or a factory that I have designed, I know it has worked Rajendra Jadhav Consultant, Chaugule Sant & Associates	My entry into a creative line such as photography is a bit of a freak situation. Soon after school, I zeroed into career options by giving a thought to all that I did NOT want: a 9 to 5 job, a boss and a role that needed an academic bent of mind Avinash Gowariker Fashion Photographer

The second creative entrepreneur is professional singer Manisha Joshi, whose voice you will hear when the Samsung refrigerator commercial plays on TV. Married to popular music composer Milind Joshi, Manisha’s music and life are joined at the hip. “I don’t come from a family of musicians so after I won a gold medal in natyasangeet, I followed my then music guru Khadilkar to Pune. Thereon to Mumbai, the land of opportunity for a singer like me”.

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