'Transition from being an actor to becoming a businesswoman was the hardest': Stars of hit Netflix show on how they built their lives at MPW 2024

The stars of Netflix's Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives—Shalini Passi, Neelam Kothari, Maheep Kapoor, Seema Sajdeh, and Bhavana Pandey—on Friday spoke at Business Today's Most Powerful Women event during a session titled Art Meets Business: Wealth Creation by Leading Women. They discussed several topics ranging from handling finances to investments to details about their personal journeys.

While discussing what it takes to become a woman entrepreneur, actor and entrepreneur Maheep Kapoor said,"I've been living as a Bollywood wife for the past 5-6 years. It had a negative connotation in the 60s and 70s. Now, we have wives like Gauri Khan who have businesses and are not in shadow. It's fun and glamorous, but it was important for us to put in a cause that we believe in for each season. Last season, we cleaned up the beach. In Season 3, I addressed diabetes. I have a diabetes gang I am corresponding with now. The show came to us when we were in our middle age. It's not over till it's over. We've been sort of resurrected with the show."

Neelam Kothari shared some insights about her transition from being an actor to businesswoman. "In the 80s and 90s, things were very different in films. There were hardly any women on sets. Today, the industry is full of women -- from directors, writers to technicians. My transition from being an actor to becoming a businesswoman was the hardest. I come from four generations of jewellers and learnt it from my father. When I started, I had no customers for 1-2 years. My celebrity status went against me. People thought I was an actor and knew nothing about the jewellery business."

Seema Sajdeh, while shedding some light on how to handle finances, said, "Women are the first CEOs of their homes. Saving money with jugaad is something that I have done back when I was married. Women are way better at saving money and investing their finances in the right places than men."

Art collector and now a reality TV star, Shalini Passi, while talking about pursuing her passion, pointed out that she never thought about becoming the 'it' girl after the show.

"I never wanted to be the 'it' girl because I am not the 'it' girl. It's my personal style. I was just having fun. I thought people might not like it because it's a little maximalist. The makeup artist told me not to put so many clips, but I just wanted to."

Bhavana Pandey shared how she has taught her children Ananya Panday and Rysa about the importance of right investment and discipline. "Disciplining your children is very important. We earn money and want to save it to give our children a better life. We disciplined our girls when they were growing up. Even when we would travel, we had a budget and they were always aware. We took 1-2 holidays in our budget instead of 4-5 holidays a year. I also come from a family where the women have always worked, and they have planned those things. Even Ananya [Panday], when she started working, she understood the importance of investing money in a house first. She knows the value of money and wants to invest in the right places. I learnt it from my mother and instilled it in Ananya and Rysa."

Shalini reflected on the responsibility that came with being part of the show, saying, "For the first time, I was working for someone else instead of just myself. That responsibility made me mature a bit more."

Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives features Seema Sajdeh, Neelam Kothari, Maheep Kapoor, Bhavana Pandey, along with Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and Kalyani Saha. The series also includes appearances by Karan Johar, Gauri Khan, Ananya Panday, Chunky Pandey, and other Bollywood personalities. Season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.