God is a woman: Ekta Kapoor

If she's called the queen of soap operas, it's not for nothing. From revolutionising the saas-bahu genre to adding shock value on the silver screen with sex, sensation and dhokha, Ekta Kapoor dares to do what no other woman in the industry has.

She speaks exclusively to Omar Qureshi and reveals the tricks of becoming the 'woman on top' in a man's world. Read on...

Now that you're on top, what do you feel when you look back? I'm glad my dad pushed me into this profession. I was a couch potato. I did nothing but watch TV and party. He was a man of morals, He gave me an ultimatum - either get married or do something with my life. He didn't want me to be somebody who just parties. He pushed me into the telly business.

So you were a total spoilt brat? Oh yeah, I was a spoilt brat for sure. Tusshar was the humble one, not telling anyone that he was Jeetendra's son. I threw Dad's name around for anything and everything. I believed it was okay to do that if some work was getting done.

How did you fit into this male-dominated industry? I had many cliches attached to me. Gender wasn't a worry, really. People thought I was an 18 year-old-plump girl who wanted to make something of herself. So winning their trust was difficult. I realised TV was a medium for women. I hired a lot of women to work for me; our management sense is the best. A lot of men had problems working with women; there were boy groups and MCPs.

The film industry is no different... The thing with the film industry was, I had access to big stars - for dinner parties and socialising, not for making film offers. I had to make do with what I had. But luckily, I got support from a superstar like Ajay and an up-and-coming star like Emraan. Milan and I were both going through a difficult phase and these two were right there.

Does the 'TV Queen' have a King yet? Not really. I have dated but I have severe trust issues. Power comes with a lot of problems. One of them is that, you'll never be able to trust anyone. My friends refuse to set me up on a date because of this issue.

There were rumours of a link-up with Karan Johar... Oh, my mother was very happy to hear that, but I told her that Karan isn't ready to marry me. Ha, ha!

Any advice for young girls out there... Just turn your passion into your profession. Women have the gift of instinct, so just use it wisely. People say God's a man, but I believe it's a woman.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/God-is-a-woman-Ekta-Kapoor/articleshow/12276668.cms