What do Bollywood blockbusters teach about startups? Plenty. ‘Guru’ and ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ dissect dreams, dangers, and deliverables of building empires.
‘Guru’ (2007) is a masterclass in scaling. Protagonist Guru starts trading Burmese rice, pivots to manufacturing, and lists on stock exchanges. Mani Ratnam infuses realism with 1960s-80s India backdrop, showing license raj hurdles overcome by cunning. Key takeaway: Disrupt complacency.
‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ (2010) zooms into SMEs. Bittoo and Shruti’s wedding firm grows via word-of-mouth, but hits snags like fund shortages and betrayals. The film’s lehenga-to-LED lights progression illustrates lean operations and customer obsession.
Amid Shark Tank India buzz, these movies gain fresh relevance. They humanize founders—flawed, passionate, victorious.
Honorable mentions: ‘Mary Kom’ for solo grit, ‘Queen’ for self-discovery entrepreneurship. India’s startup count hit 1.17 lakh in 2023; these films remind that vision plus valor equals victory.