Jackie Shroff’s Family Turned Rs 1 Lakh Investment Into Rs 100 Crore With This TV Deal—Here's How

Jackie Shroff and his family transformed an opportunity into one of their most profitable business ventures. What started as a small investment gradually grew into a significant deal when the Shroffs acquired a stake in the Indian launch of Sony Entertainment Television.

The returns were extraordinary. Over a span of 15 years, a small investment of Rs 1 lakh reportedly multiplied into nearly Rs 100 crore, marking a landmark moment for the Shroff family’s wealth.

In a conversation with Zero1 Hustle by Zerodha, Jackie Shroff’s wife and film producer Ayesha Shroff reflected on the journey that led to the deal. She highlighted the Shroff family’s strategic use of networking and their reputation in Bollywood to secure a highly successful business deal.

Describing how the Shroff family helped set up Sony Entertainment Television in India, Ayesha Shroff said, “We were setting up the Sony Entertainment Television Channel in India. So we had this party. We are not the party kind. So, when we have a party, thankfully, everybody turns up. The entire film industry showed up. It was a wild party.”

By the end of the party, Ayesha Shroff said, the Sony executive, who had come from Los Angeles, was impressed and decided to go ahead with the deal.

“At 6 am, the party wound up. And the Sony boss, who was down from LA, said, ‘We are doing it with this group.' We signed the deal the next day. And it was the best investment we ever made,” she said.

Ayesha Shroff then went on to underline the scale of the family’s returns from this investment, saying it was a “happy exit” 15 years later. To give a sense of the growth, she said the returns were extraordinary, “I would say Rs 1 lakh to Rs 100 crore,” Ayesha Shroff said, highlighting how a relatively small initial investment multiplied into an enormous sum over time.

In the lead-up to the party, Ayesha Shroff reflected on how the investment in Sony TV took shape with a group of seven friends. “It was my first encounter with a whole corporate setup like Sony,” she said.

Speaking about the team, she said, “Each one had a specific skill that they brought to the group,” adding that her husband Jackie Shroff contributed his star power, while the others brought expertise in banking, television and technology.

Describing the process, she said, “We wooed Sony for one year. It was one year of back-and-forth negotiations.” Despite the excitement, she said there was stiff competition from some of India’s biggest business houses.

Eventually, Ayesha suggested a unique approach to finalising the deal. “One night, I suggested to my husband, ‘just let’s have a party and call everybody,’” she said, framing it as a way to either celebrate or kickstart the negotiations. This plan eventually set the stage for one of the family’s most memorable business wins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViQwQ-DCYhc

Jackie Shroff’s net worth is estimated at around Rs 400 crore, according to a Hindustan Times report.