If you meet the sisters Shamoly and Dimpy Khera, the young and creative entrepreneurs of One Take Media, you will be amazed by their energy, enthusiasm, knowledge and passion for their company.
Cookery and kids entertainment are two genres, which need a lot of love and care. Women are good with both. Undoubtedly, the charming duo have a wonderful story to tell about One Take Media (OTM) which they have nurtured with a lot of love.
OTM is a place for a wholesome family entertainment that specialises in educative and entertaining cartoons for kids and cookery shows with a plethora of Celebrity chefs as well.
To put it succinctly, it is a young content creation and syndication company based out of Mumbai. They are in-house producers with a complete production and editing team as well as content experts with several years of experience and understanding. It specialises in customised content for niche genres. They have also developed a vast bank of 500 plus hours of cooking content, with about a million viewers already watching them.They have celebrity chefs like Harpal Singh Sokhi, Vicky Ratnani, Ajay Chopra, AdityaBal and many more onboard.
In an exclusive conversation with TellyChakkar.com, the Khera sisters spoke at length about the origin of One Take Media and also shed light on their momentous journey. Excerpts from the interview:
Shed some light on the inception of One Take Media
(Shamoly Khera) One Take Media was founded by both of us. We saw a lot of scope in television as well as alternate media, and we couldn’t wait to be a part of the process of contributing quality content.
(Dimpy Khera) It has been a great journey so far over the past four years. When I came to know about my elder sister starting One Take Media, my fondness towards it grew with time.
Dimpy, you have a degree in Business and Economics from the University of Cambridge, what drew you towards the media?
Even though I have a mind towards business management, I was always inclined towards media. I guess because creativity runs in our family.
Shamoly, you have a degree in Medicine and a speciaisation in Cosmetology, what was your thought process when you decided to be a part of the showbiz?
I was always interested in performing arts, which I would pursue in parallel as an extra curricular activity. However, the lights, camera and action always had all my heart and over time it felt only natural to pursue it full time. I am glad I took that risk. One Take Media is the outcome of that gut instinct.”
So why is it called One Take Media?
(Shamoly) It is a concept I carried with me from theatre. A good artist I feel, performs in a single take, just like theatre. Because, the stage gives you no second chances – you have to get it right in the first time. When the time finally came of naming our production house, this idea was still alive within me, and we all loved it. Hence, One Take was born.
Do you even ask your artists and chefs to deliver in one take?
(Shamoly laughs) No, not at all. We don’t put them under that pressure. We let them work at their pace for quality results.
The cooking show conceptualized by the both of you has six well-known celebrity chefs. How did that materialize?
(Dimpy says) The Great Indian Global Kitchen has been an ambitious project for us. We wanted the best chefs all under one umbrella dishing out recipes that are inspired from India but have a global appeal.
(Shamoly adds) We had a vision of creating a premium product that appeals not just to Indians but to the international audience as well. The Great Indian Global Kitchen is a product of that thought – recipes that have never been shown on television before – all 600 of them are original recipes made just for this show, and we applaud the chefs for their boisterous energy and focus that they bought to the show.
I mean, have you ever heard of Dal Makhani soup? (Quips Dimpy) excitedly. No one would have ever thought of Dal Makhani in a soup but chef Vicky Ratnani made it possible. Our chefs have put together an unbelievable list. The show has been shot with high quality technicians and state-of-the-art camera, so we do justice to each of their talents.
So where does One Take Media function from?
Our head office is in Mumbai, India. Most of our current work is for the Asian audience. We have a great supportive network of channels, broadcasters and creative talent that we work with from here (Says Dimpy).
(Shamoly adds) The international acquisition from the other hand is managed from Dubai, as I am currently based there. Acquiring and creating content with a global appeal is an easier task if we are updated about what the world is watching and what current preferences are trending in terms of television habits.
It’s not very common that you see two sisters plunge into an entrepreneurial project of this magnitude. How is it working with each other as partners?
(Dimpy quips) It is amazing so far. We have different views on things but a common goal, so we take into account each others perspectives before taking any final decision.
What is your view about women handling business?
(Shamoly says) I think building this production house is a big comment on that. We got great motivation from our family for this, which we realize is very uncommon in India. It might be present in urban cities but less in the interior areas. We both feel lucky for being in position to materialize our dream in our way. That’s why we encourage women, be it in our workforce or the women talent. They are naturally adept at creative and logical decisions. We should realize and implement that.
Where are your shows being broadcast currently?
We have tied up with Viacom 18 UK and US (informs Dimpy). We are in the process of closing our deal with one channel in India. Once we are through, we can speak about it.
Tell us something about the team and its working style?
(Shamoly says) I think we have a fairly young team. We like the energy with which they work - they come up with ideas that are out of the box, concepts that have not been thought before. Everyone is encouraged to share their ideas.They are not restricted. We may have a hierarchy, but we don’t impose that on anyone. So it’s a team that openly shares, works together and contributes towards a common goal.
What egged you towards content creation and syndication?
(Dimpy says) Content creation is the future of digitalization. People love to watch new things. The customers are themselves explorers when they come home and watch TV. I think content in India is going to boom.
(Adds Shamoly) There’s a big reason why content is booming - there are so many outlets for it today. Besides television, there’s the digital medium which people can now access on their phones. In addition there many digital channels like Amazon, Netflix encouraging so much more content. Ten years back it wasn’t given so much credit. But today, audiences are smart. They pick what they want to see because they know what they want to see and they also have many options. This encourages competition. So it is only going to go upwards from here, in India as well as internationally.
Shamoly, you have previously hosted some popular shows on UTV Zee and Zoom amongst others. Do you plan to showcase your culinary skills on the cooking show?
Not currently (she laughs). We have internally discussed it, may be sometime in the future since I am personally into health food and dessert baking big time. For now, we want to focus on The Great IndianGlobal Kitchen. We have spent the last seven months coordinating and shooting with some of the top chefs of India. We are really motivated after seeing how the entire series has turned out.
(Says Dimpy) It was surely challenging for us. Our chefs sat down for hours and rated each dish for us. It is the plating, the ingredients, everything on the set, the anchor’s wardrobe, the cutleries used; everything has been paid attention to. We have around 200 episodes shot and the content is really exciting.
Shamoly and Dimpy Khera have won many hearts with their wonderful animated kids and cookery shows and we hope they continue doing so.
TellyChakkar.com wishes them all the best for all their future endeavours!
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