For the last few years, countries around the world are witnessing the power of Indian entrepreneurship. The country is minting unicorns at an unprecedented rate and these companies are not only serving domestic customers but also solving global problems.
The post-liberalization era provided new opportunities to talented people across the country to become rich without family or political connections. The people educated in post-liberalization India know no bounds, whatever the limitations nature has imposed.
Srikanth Bolla, a 29-year-old differently-abled (visually impaired) person from Andhra Pradesh is serving as an exemplary example of India’s entrepreneurial talent. Born to a farming family as a visually impaired child, people in his village told his parents to send the child to an orphanage. However, his parents kept faith in the child and God.
“My parents, Damodar Rao and Venkatamma were devastated that their baby was born blind. But at every stage, from the time they initiated me into a school in a rural area, they had to fight the system. Having faced challenges at every stage during my education, I always had the urge to do something differently,” said Srikanth.
Bolla proved to be a very meritorious child and went on to become the first international blind student in Brain and Cognitive Science and Business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And after that Bolla did not take up some easy job of academic or salaried professional (which he would have easily got given his MIT credentials), or even some rent-seeking bureaucrat (Indian government gives reservation of differently-abled people in civil services) but took the toughest job of an entrepreneur.
Srikant Bolla runs Bollant Industries Limited as its CEO, with five factories employing over 650 people, nearly half of whom are differently-abled men and women. Srikanth manufactures eco-friendly, disposable consumer packaging solutions worth Rs 100 crores.
Right from student days, Bolla has won many awards and recognitions. For entrepreneurship, he has been recognized by various national, international organizations including the Emerging Leadership Award, given by ECLIF Malaysia, and the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 award, given by CII. And soon Bolla will have a well-deserved biopic.
Tushar Hiranandani, who made the biopic Sandh Ki Ankh starring Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu, is all set to make a biopic on Bolla. Given his highly inspirational story, Bolla can be the poster child of India’s post-liberalization success story, and it only seems natural that someone considered making a biopic on Srikanth. “I am only interested in making biopics,” says Tushar. “I am doing a Hotstar show currently. But I am also busy writing his film with Jagdeep Sidhu, a writer who has also written Sandh Ki Ankh.”
“He went ahead and showed everyone that anyone can start a business and be successful too,” Tushar adds. Interestingly, the film will feature all real-life heroes, Tushar tells us. “All real heroes from Srikanth Bolla to Ravi will feature on reel and we plan to have the real Hyderabadi accent in the portions to be shot in Hyderabad. The idea is to keep the story as real as possible,” he adds.
Since the Modi government came to power, many schemes have been launched to encourage Divyang (differently-abled) people. The recent success of India at the Paralympics served as a good inspiration for more than 2.68 crore people of the country. The story of Srikanth Bolla will inspire differently-abled people to enter different fields such as education and entrepreneurship.
