Bharat Thakur is all that a spiritual guru of our imagination is not: no long beard, no saffron clothes, no sober talk. He smokes and eats non-veg - a habit he gained in the Himalayas where he spent his childhood learning spirituality - and is married to a Bollywood film star. Above all, he owns business ventures - ranging from software companies to film production.
"There was a time I used to charge heavily for my workshops. But once an elderly woman approached me and said she's interested to enrol for my workshop but couldn't afford it. I realized my services should be rendered free to the world," Bharat told TOI. In order to meet expenses for conducting workshops, he decided to start ventures.
His businesses are solutions to problems that he encountered in life. "When I started producing movies, I realized there is no organized set-up in the area of costumes, which makes it a cumbersome process. Therefore, I started Red Velvet," Bharat explained.
One of his new `problems' has turned into one of the biggest projects online. Bharat remembers how he had to travel to 16 cities in order to find a hero for one of his movies. The decision to build a platform for people in the film industry was thus born, and the result is a website titled mayanagar.com.
The seven-month-
"Usually, movie industries within the country are framed under various titles. Here, we bring them under one umbrella. The website aims to help people associated with films," Bharat added. As part of the process, he plans to launch a Mayanagar talent hunt soon.
