Ronnie Screwvala (born 8 September 1956) is an Indian entrepreneur, film producer and investor. He helped bring cable television to Mumbai in the 1980s, built the media company UTV and sold it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. He then co-founded upGrad, an online higher-education company that became a unicorn in 2021, and RSVP Movies. With his wife he runs the Swades Foundation, which works in rural Maharashtra.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Rohinton Soli Screwvala |
| Born | 8 September 1956, Bombay (now Mumbai), India |
| Age | 70 |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, film producer, investor |
| Known for | Founder of UTV; co-founder of upGrad; RSVP Movies |
| Education | Cathedral and John Connon School; Sydenham College, Mumbai |
| Spouse | Zarina Mehta |
| Children | 1 daughter (Trishya) |
Early Life
Screwvala grew up in a Parsi family in a small flat on Grant Road in Mumbai. As a boy he sold tickets to neighbours to watch processions from the family balcony. He acted in English theatre and anchored television shows while at college.
Career
In 1981 he began wiring apartment buildings in south Mumbai to show videos on a shared channel, one of the first cable services in India. He also set up a toothbrush factory with second-hand machines bought in England, which grew into a large contract manufacturer.
United Television, founded in 1990 with Zarina Mehta and Deven Khote, produced shows such as the daily soap Shanti and launched the children’s channel Hungama. Its film arm made Swades, Rang De Basanti, Jodhaa Akbar, A Wednesday, Dev.D and Barfi!, backing new directors and unusual stories. Disney, already a shareholder, bought the rest of the company in 2012 in a deal that valued it at more than a billion dollars, and he ran Disney’s Indian business until 2014.
In 2015 he founded upGrad with Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli and Ravijot Chugh to offer online degrees and courses for working adults. His company RSVP Movies has produced Uri: The Surgical Strike, Raat Akeli Hai and Sam Bahadur. He owns the kabaddi team U Mumba and was an early investor in Peyush Bansal‘s Lenskart. He appeared as an investor on Shark Tank India.
Books
Philanthropy
The Swades Foundation works on water, sanitation, health, schooling and livelihoods in villages of Raigad and Nashik districts, with the aim of lifting a million people out of poverty.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Ronnie Screwvala born?
Ronnie Screwvala was born on 8 September 1956 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India and is 70 years old.
What is Ronnie Screwvala known for?
Known for: Founder of UTV; co-founder of upGrad; RSVP Movies.
Featured image: Ronnie Screwvala at the Horasis India Meeting, Cascais, Portugal, July 2016. Photo by Horasis, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
