By Jigar Ganatra

From journalist to fashion designer, author, dialogue writer and now a chat show host, Niranjan Iyengar has tasted success consistently over the years. With a flair for sharing experiences, he takes us on the journey he has lived over the year and speaks about the upcoming second season of his show ?Look who?s talking with Niranjan.?

Excerpts:

Tell us about your journey so far in the film industry
Things have come my way and have happened with time. Neither did I plan my journey, nor did I follow one path. It all started ever since I was a journalist and unlike the journalists today, I shared a rapport with many artists from the film industry. My work brought me close to a lot of stars and ever since then we have been together.
I have always been in love with the movies and hence I have been closely associated with many from the fraternity, and that?s how every project happened ? be it the book on Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, dialogues for Kal Ho Na Ho or any of my other works.

Juggling between films to television and vice versa, how does it work?
I have been associated with television as a writer, but never had a plan to face the camera as a chat show host. I have done two shows on television and hence had an understanding of the difference between two mediums. I was clear that the pace in the television industry is very different, unlike in films. Though the medium has its pros and cons, there is great flexibility and liberty in television than movies. However, I believe there is still a lot to learn about the dynamic television industry and I?m in the process of it.

Tell us about the author in you
A book on the movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was unplanned, although I did realise during the making that there were several reasons to write one. I was travelling with the team and noticed that the movie's star cast was amazing. Hence, as an author, I wanted to give a perspective on how the movie was made, which is a reflection to the journey I experienced with the crew ? from the idea of the movie to its release. That?s how it all started for me an author.

Can we expect another book from you soon?
Any writer would love to write. I take writing very seriously and it takes a lot of time. I believe one needs to live the moments to write on any subject. Currently, I am busy with projects, but eventually I will write a book. I have too many ideas, but I?m not planning to write, at least for a decade. I think bookshould be written when you have a certain amount of distance on the subject matter. For me to write about movies, I need to distance myself from it for a while, which is when I would be able to pen my thoughts.

Tell us something about the show and Niranjan as a host
Look Who?s Talking has a very different flavour and approach to it. The title of the show is different and was given by someone from the channel and everyone in the team liked it. The production house had the idea and offered me to host the chat show. Initially, I wasn?t very confident about facing the camera, but I was told that I could do a great job with it. Karan Johar, a close friend of mine, had a lot of faith in me. He suggested that I take up the opportunity. That?s how I gained confidence and built it episode after episode. This season the confidence has reached a great level and I?m happy about it.

As a host of the show, what ideas did you have in mind?
Since the beginning, I was very clear that I wouldn?t do anything against my personality. I wanted to be myself and present it in the most comfortable manner. This was my contribution to the show. I have known the stars for a long time and hence I did not want to look at them as stars, on this show. However, I wanted to engage with them as a friend. The idea was to keep a conversational tone and bring out the personality behind the stars. I did not want to go by any order.
Hence, the stars and I actually spoke for a couple of hours, which then becomes the episode. I believe that?s the show's USP.

What can be expected from the upcoming season?
From an audience perspective, I can say that one can look forward to the same discovery I?m making. They would love the show if they enjoyed those moments along with me. Further, the locations in this season are different to the previous and every episode is different and unique. There are a lot of stars and different personalities whom I have interacted with, starting with Varun Dhawan. However, I do have some on the ?dream list? and I wish I interview them, especially Aamir Khan.
Look who?s talking with Niranjan ? season 2 will air from 23 August at 9 pm on Zee Cafe.

By Papri Das

With the advent of e-commerce and other related start-ups, one can see more and more women actively taking initiatives to set-up several business ventures, shrugging away the conventional notion that business is a man?s world. A fine example would be Funcart.in CEO Ritika Nangia. Her start up has been quite the talk of the town for providing innovative party merchandises online.

?Funcart.in being a unique party supplies portal brings to you unique theme based accessories for decoration and funky costume wearables,? shares Nangia, adding that the USP of Funcart.in is to make a party celebration memorable and fun through exclusive party items at an affordable price.

?Party supplies is still at a very nascent stage in India. With the standard of living going up and the youth of India constituting 1/5th of the total Indian population, parties have become the need of everyone. That?s the reason I wanted to set up an e-commerce venture, which would have good stuff at affordable prices, so that everyone can party without feeling the pinch on their pockets,? Nagia says putting the appeal for an all-stop online party shop into perspective.

She feels that there is a dearth of brick and mortar stores that caters to specific party needs such as pinsters party, adults birthday celebrations etc. ?The Indian market shadows our culture and is marked by sellers who shy away from kinky accessories. But here at Funcart.in, we don?t play by the taboo rules, and cater to people who would want to enjoy like ?seize the day?,? shares the 30 year old entrepreneur.

When asked if women have it easier to set-up e-commerce brands, Nangia replies in the negative. ?I don?t think that e-commerce can be defined as a platform, which is easy for women entrepreneurs. The biggest hurdles in e-commerce are primarily the logistics, which are general and irrespective to gender handling it. I would say a smart effort is required to run an efficient e-com business and women are best for it.?

Born and brought up in a family where women spontaneously took part in the family business, Nangia naturally had the makings of an entrepreneur. Therefore, right after her Bachelors degree in Commerce and studying exports and retail management from NIFT Delhi, she started her own leather bags label Rits and Prikar. ?But the label was under the family business group, and wanting to start something on my own led me to explore the idea of a online party accessories destination. And that?s how Funcart.in materialised in 2014,? she recounts. Now, almost a year old, funcart.in enjoys a fair amount of traffic and sells 200 units a day. But far from being complacent, Nangia aims to push the daily sales to a thousand units a day.