Entrepreneurs are a unique breed for they take that leap of faith and invest their all in what they believe in. We have two such people who are poles apart in their chosen fields of business but share the same high levels of passion and commitment to what they have chosen to do! Puvikumar of the Kavi Group of companies made his way in the Poultry business and Ranjeeth Rathod of DRA Homes found his calling in the world of Real Estate. The duo share the same ideas on "Risk it to make it big! and have applied it successfully to beat the odds and become scions in their entrepreneurial dreams!
Dapper Ranjeeth Rathod is the Managing Director of the Chennai Operations for DRA Homes, a company which is into the development of real estate, predominantly residential apartments and row houses. He started his career with Larsen & Toubro for L&T South City Projects Pvt. Ltd., which was tasked with developing a massive township near Siruseri, in Chennai. He was the Alternate Director and Executive Committee member and his time here helped him learn the intricacies of the real estate business in a thoroughly professional & process-oriented manner.
With a Masters degree in Finance, Ranjeeth was always interested in involving himself with the Treasury. Upon realising that the Indian financial market was still nascent, he decided to look past his family's textile business and when life placed real estate at him and he grabbed it with both hands! Ranjeeth Rathod is good with numbers and that always helps in this field where he has been excelling for over 13 years now. Ritz caught up with him to find out his journey towards success. Read on to see what he has to say...
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR?
It started with the OMR journey. When the OMR expressway was announced around 2004, we thought this could be the big boom in real estate. I had been travelling very frequently to Bangalore between 1998 and 2004 and I saw the city mushrooming with the IT boom. Residential development happened exponentially because of IT and the Chennai IT expressway announcement set off ideas for us. We identified the right land and purchased it. Then, everything began falling into place.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CURRENT REAL ESTATE SCENARIO IN CHENNAI?
This story is from the May 2019 edition of RITZ.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2019 edition of RITZ.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WOMAN OF METTLE
Full-time actress and a full-time mother, one wonders how she does it all and with so much passion; yet, one conversation with Uma Riyaz Khan is all it takes to know one can have it all! She is one of the few actors who love acting and takes cinema passionately and has shared screen space with some of the leading stars of Kollywood. For her acting is a craft and she proves her mettle every single time she’s on-screen and has been constantly juggling between many mediums of entertainment. The versatile actor speaks to RITZ about her career choices, her family life, and her experiences on and off-screen as a mother and much more.
THE POWER OF GRIT
Jewellery designer, socialite, philanthropist and now the President of Terroir - The Madras Wine Club, Minnie Menon has added one more feather to her colourful hat. Minnie, who is now on mission Terroir, speaks to RITZ about her passion, love for jewellery, her recent responsibility and what it took to get in there.
THE ART OF MAKING TEA
Kausshal Dugarr - Founder and CEO of Teabox shares how he took his Indian tea brand to 117 countries.
SPREADING MASSIVE WINGS
Zorawar Kalra, founder of Massive Restaurants speaks on how he likes to innovate and stay ahead of the game.
READY TO FACE THE ARC LIGHTS!
As a child, she was always under the limelight for her amazing performances at the Kerala Youth Festival. It came as no surprise that her very first film offer came from Sibi Malayil for Ishtam opposite Dileep. Though her parents were reluctant initially, with a little coaxing from her uncle, Director K Madhu, they agreed to let her chase her dreams and ever since, there has been no looking back for this beautiful actress. Her memorable performances during the early stages of her career in films like Nandanam, Kalyanaraman and Kunjikoonan made her one of the most sought after actresses in Mollywood. With close to 50 films to her credit in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada, she is the recipient of two Kerala state film awards. Ritz is in conversation with the South Indian Star, Navya Nair, who after a hiatus of eight years, is making a comeback to Mollywood with her much awaited film, Oruthee!
MELODY! QUEEN
‘Raftaara’ the song from the blockbuster Mollywood film, Lucifer went viral the minute it was released online. It came as a surprise to many that it was Malayalam Cinema’s very own Jyotsna, who had sung this fast Hindi number! The gorgeous playback singer herself didn’t expect to receive such an overwhelming response and she is thrilled that the song has topped the charts. Of late, Jyotsna has been busy with her independent projects such as ‘Krishna the eternal’ - which is an offbeat meditation album, her single ‘Enni Varumo’ which won the Mazhavil manorana music award for best independent song of the year and of course ‘Paranne’, an original, written, composed and sung by the melody queen herself! Ritz catches up with the brilliant musician, Jyotsna Radhakrishnan, who recently won the ‘Kochi Marriott Presents Ritz Super 8’ felicitation for her exceptional and inspirational work in Music.
FUN, FOOD, FRENZY, FESTIVITIES, FIREWORKS & FINESSE
Thailand’s Elephant Boat Race and River Festival saw a spectacular adrenalinefilled weekend of paddlers, singers, music, food and tipple lovers, and some celeb spotting too.
FROM RAGS TO SHAYYA!
Pure Living is back with yet another incredible initiative. On women’s day this year, the firm that focusses on eco-friendly products and eco awareness, launched a special product titled ‘Shayya’, a handcrafted mattress that is being distributed free of cost to the poor and homeless. What makes it special is the fact that it is upcycled from cloth waste. Yes, the cloth scrap generated at fashion design or tailoring units that is usually burnt every single day is what is being used to make the Shayya. The result? Less pollution and a warm coz y surface for the poor and homeless! Read on to know more about this wonderful initiative by Lakshmi Menon.
DREAMS MAKETH A WOMAN
She’s a sensation in the wrestling ring. Sakshi Malik made India proud by bagging a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She was the first woman wrestler from the country to secure a podium finish. No highs or lows, or ups and downs stopped her from reaching her goals. Just one step short of the Summer Olympics 2020 in Tokyo, Sakshi seems to be fitter and stronger than ever before, thanks to the confidence, she’s gained from her last victory. Endorsing the partnership of Herbalife Nutrition with the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) as it’s sports nutrition partner, the young IIS wrestler spoke to us about her journey after Rio Olympics and her dreams for Tokyo Olympics.
Creating ENTERTAINING SOCIAL SPACES
Riyaaz Amlani, CEO & MD, Impresario Handmade Restaurants shares his journey on providing unlimited entertainment options.
