Media365
Television producer Ekta Kapoor once spent six months sleeping at her office, going home only to take a shower. The reason was to oversee the television shows she was producing, right down to watching their edits and episodes herself.
In a conversation with Ranveer Allahbadia on his podcast, The Ranveer Show, Ekta opened up about the extreme work routine she followed during the early years of her career and spoke about her relationship with work, ambition and hustle culture.
Ekta recalled that she watched everything herself and often stayed at the office rather than returning home.
“I clearly had no life, but I enjoyed doing this. I watched everything. I didn’t go home for six months. Nobody knows this. I would go home only to bathe or rest for an hour or two before returning to work. I kept my toothbrush at the office and even slept there,” she said.
Ekta Kapoor recalls mother showering her with flowers
Ekta recalled calling her mother one day to say that she would be coming home at 11 pm to sleep. Her mother was so surprised by the announcement that Ekta jokingly asked her to shower her with flowers when she arrived.
“When I finally came home, my mother showered me with flowers because I hadn’t been home for six months, except to take a shower. My house was just 10 minutes away from my office,” she recalled.
Ekta said although her home was just 10 minutes away from her office, she continued staying at the office to oversee production.
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“My house is just 10 minutes away from my office. I would stay at the office, go upstairs to watch an edit whenever it was ready, come back downstairs to sleep, and then go up again after sleeping for two hours.”
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Ekta Kapoor on hustle culture
Ekta also addressed the growing conversation around hustle culture and the idea that working excessively long hours should not be treated as the norm.
“I think people are increasingly saying that we shouldn’t normalise hustle culture, and I hear this more and more. But I think it is a choice. This was my choice. I respect people who don’t want to work this way, and I respect their choices too,” she said.
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Ekta described working relentlessly something that gave her personal satisfaction, explaining that she often felt compelled to translate her thoughts and emotions into creative work.
“It was my way of releasing everything I was feeling. I experienced so many things in my life, and until I put them down on paper and created something out of them, I didn’t feel satisfied,” she said.
The producer also spoke about how closely her sense of self-worth is tied to her professional achievements.
“My self-worth comes from my career. It is both a good and a bad thing. The good part is that it helped me create a lot of content, but the bad part is that it is unhealthy,” she said.
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Ekta’s daily routine after becoming a mother
Earlier this year on a podcast by Usha Kakade Productions, Ekta had discussed how she manages work alongside motherhood.
Describing her daily routine, Ekta explained that she briefly wakes up when her son gets ready for school before returning to sleep. She then begins her workday late in the morning.
“In the morning when my son goes to school, I wake up for about ten minutes for him and then go back to sleep. I wake up again at around 11 am and spend the next three hours on calls, mobile work and writing content,” she explained.
She said the afternoon is reserved for her son before she heads to the office for the rest of the day.
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“After that I pick my son up from school, drop him home and go for a workout. By 4 pm I reach the office and then I work till around 4 am,” she said.
She added that she often spends nearly 12 hours working at the office, particularly because she finds the late-night hours more conducive to creativity.
“I enjoy working at night because there are fewer phone calls and that’s when creativity really happens,” she said.
Ekta Kapoor, who began her career at a young age, went on to become one of the most influential producers in Hindi television. Through Balaji Telefilms, she has been associated with popular shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kasautii Zindagii Kay and Pavitra Rishta. Her work has also extended to films and digital entertainment.
