In a world of glass-half-full optimists and glass-half-empty pessimists, Ajay Bijli stands apart as an entrepreneur. The 56-year-old businessman believes that the glass can be refilled. With his sheer hard work and impeccable leadership skills, Ajay took the multiplex chain – PVR to another level of success. During his journey, he has been knocked down plenty of times but his resilience helps him get back on his feet every single time. Want to know the success story of Ajay Bijli? Well, in this blog, we will tell you everything about his journey so far in the cinema hall business.
Early Days
Born in 1967 in New Delhi, Ajay Bijli came from an affluent family. His father used to run a truck company called Amritsar Transport. He did his graduation from the Hindu College in Delhi and then went on to pursue Owner/President Management at Harvard Business School.
After completing his studies, Ajay returned to India and joined his family’s movie theatre venture as he was not interested in the transportation business. His father owned a cinema hall – Priya Theatre in Delhi.
How PVR Came Into the Picture?
Since Ajay’s family owned several single-screen theatres in Delhi, he was always familiar with the challenges of running a cinema business, such as the high cost of maintaining screens and the difficulty in attracting audiences to watch Hindi movies because a lot of their competitors added Hollywood movies as well.
Therefore, Ajay decided to modernize Priya theatre, making his official foray into the cinema hall business. In 1991, he remodeled the entire movie hall by installing a new projector, Dolby sound system, and comfortable seats.
However, his happiness was short-lived as a tragedy hit in 1992 when Ajay’s father passed away. Due to his father’s unfortunate demise,the mantle of both the businesses – transportation and theatre fell on Ajay’s shoulders. He would spend his days handling the truck business and devoted his evenings to the theatre.
Just when he started to get a grip on his family business another setback hit him. In 1994, a fire broke out at their warehouse and the truck business was reduced to ashes. Despite all the obstacles in the road, he didn’t lose his passion for movies and so he shifted his focus towards the theatre business. The “never say never” attitude pushed him to explore this path which eventually gave him a new direction in his life.
Growth And Success Of PVR
In 1995, Ajay met a Hollywood producer who later introduced him to an Australian production house named “Village Roadshow”. Ajay collaborated with them to expand his family business in India and that’s how they started PVR (Priya Village Roadshow).
After the Aussie company exited his business, Ajay ran the company along with his family members. They opened India’s first multiplex, PVR, in 1997 in Saket and then there was no looking back for Ajay Bijli. Later, he launched an IPO to fund his brand and raised about Rs.100 crores.
Last year, PVR merged with INOX and now they have over 1650 screens across 350 properties in 110 cities. The company also touched a new milestone of 900 screens in January 2023. PVR has now made a name for itself by providing a range of services to customers that offer them unique and immersive cinema experiences.