“When I was about 13, I knew what I wanted to do. My cousin was leaving to study at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, and that’s when he firmly put this dream into me firmly that normal, non-industry people can also make films. The high then was to see my name in the films as a director. Something just clicked and I knew this was to be my profession,” she reveals.
Mitu did not have to struggle much to find a foothold in the industry. “I was all set to come to Mumbai to “struggle” but at that time Rajat Sharma sir was making Aap Ki Adalat in Delhi and my dad found out about it. So I went for the interview and got the job of a production assistant. This was 20th August 1993. And then one thing led to another. Later in 2000, I was working with BAG Films Delhi and we came to Mumbai for a shoot. We ended up at Jeetu [Jeetendra] uncle’s house (now known as Krishna Bungalow, Ekta Kapoor’s house!). Shobha aunty and we journos sat down and spoke after the shoot. She was looking for Eps and I was looking to shift to Mumbai and after a few days I got a call that resulted in a job with Balaji, things started rolling after that,” she says.
A quote she read in the College of Confucius that said, ‘Choose a job you love and you won’t have to work a day in your life!’ always motivated Mitu. “When I am low there are two thoughts that stay with me, this too shall pass and the another quote, ‘What if I fall? But darling, what if you fly’. I know my dreams. Some are achieved and others will be achieved with time. If I could move without contacts and connections from Lucknow till here, and succeed I can do much more,” she adds.
Mitu believes in luck, destiny and hard work. All combined can lead to success. “I am satisfied with what I have done so far. Things did work out in ways differently than I expected but they worked out well in the larger picture. Of course there are ups and downs but that’s the fun of growth and progress. There is always so much more to learn. Growth is the only constant. I know I have the potential, calibre, talent and vision to grow more and the journey is to do that now,” she sounds confident.
Revealing her career goals, she adds, “To make my YouTube channel stand out and make content I believe in, tell stories that need to be told and not brushed under the carpet. I also want to take Positive Thinkerz (her production house) to the heights it was conceived to touch.”
