HE WOULD love to call his company ‘Gone out for Lunch'. Instead, deciding not to wear his chilled-out credentials on his sleeve, he went for the sober Gold Mark Inter Media and Star Entertainment.

Just back from a trip to Phuket with his group of three pals, he refused to talk about the holiday. It would be violating the pact he made with his friends, he said.

"It was a trip of debauchery," he said, laughing uncontrollably in his obscenely spacious three-bedroom flat in Andheri's Lokhandwala Complex, the address to have if you work in the television industry. "Whatever happened in Phuket shall remain in Phuket."

Meet 28-year-old Rahul Agarrwal, whom people in the industry fondly call the ‘biggest loser'. He can afford to take the sobriquet on the chin because he's anything but a loser; he produced one of India's most popular television reality shows, Biggest Loser Jeetega, which aired on the Sahara channel last year. Inspired by an American game show format, Biggest Loser Jeetega brought together overweight participants under one roof and tracked their moves as they tried to lose weight.

He now earns Rs 12 lakh a month from selling television formats to channels, and pays Rs 25 to 30 lakh a year as income tax. He owns a Lexus Land Cruiser. He ain't starving.

Agarrwal symbolises the opportunities in the exploding television market, from production to editing to acting to post-production. "There are channels mushrooming and the demand for shows and soaps is increasing. There is plenty of work for anyone and everyone who is looking to make a career in television," he explained over cups of steaming coffee.

His friends have branded him "crazy."

"Sometimes, when we are out having dinner at a posh restaurant, my friends often challenge me to sit at someone else's table," he said. "The challenge is that you have to sit and make conversation and also eat the food they've ordered without being thrown out. I do it with a lot of ease."

So what's this guy's back story?

After completing his schooling in Delhi, where he grew up, Agarrwal went to Melbourne to do a double major in media and theatre at the Deakin University. Theatre? "I couldn't sit in a classroom doing English honours," he said. "And I always wanted to pursue media, but wanted my graduate degree to be a bit flamboyant."

Whatever.

On returning to India from Australia in 2003, he desultorily dabbled in his father's film producing business, but actually wanted to strike out on his own. He tried to get into direction, just "like every other person in the industry".

"I had two scripts ready and started meeting a lot of actors," he recalled. "But as usual, no one was willing to act in a movie when they heard I was directing it."

So the hunt for self-actualisation continued. He began thinking small. At this time, television shows inspired by overseas formats, like Kaun Banega Crorepati and Indian Idol began catching on.

"Since I was getting nowhere with film direction, I decided to do something with reality television and started looking at what was happening across the world," he said. "I found The Biggest Loser."

Agarrwal explained that he met Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty when he was about to acquire the format. Shetty saw all the episodes of The Biggest Loser in America, and said he would like to host the desi version. "I was elated," said Agarrwal.

 Getting a foothold

 "Rahul is young, enterprising and willing to work and listen, which is very important," said Suniel Shetty. "He exemplifies the fact that if you want to achieve something really bad, it's not impossible."

The logical next step was to buy the rights to the format from NBC, the US network that aired the show. Agarrwal already knew a lot of people in NBC. Through his friend in the US, who is also his partner, he approached the network and clinched the deal.

"My profit was actually marginal because my aim was to get a foothold in the television industry," he said. "I know people who are standing in queue with 100 pilot episodes shot and no one is buying their idea. I knew if I could pull this one off it would be the biggest shows of television history."

He admitted that his family's financial backing played a huge role, but quickly added that nothing had been served to him on a platter. "I could have been just a production manager in my father's company, but I struck out on my own by becoming an entrepreneur. I always like to think out-of-box. I am wired differently," he said.

What's next on the agenda? A lot.

He's preparing for Biggest Loser Jeetega's second season. His company has also acquired the rights to broadcast worldwide animation films, video games, mobile content and products based on the famous US comic strip Archie. For the animation work, he has hired the US artists and technicians who created The Simpsons. "If someone in Spain wants to broadcast Archie, they will have to pay me," he explained.

He's clearly betting big on the small screen.

"Television is humongous and growing," he said. "The next three years in India will be crucial. A zillion channels are opening up and they will need software.Reality shows are going to get a big boost. Of course, any format will have to be localised to suit the Indian audience's palate. We have to add a bit of singing and dancing and all the other masala."

hotjobs@hindustantimes.com 28 ARRWAL, RAHUL AG ducer of Job: Pro es programm television 12 lakh Salary: Rs per month

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CHATROOM: RAHUL AGARRWAL LETS YOU PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES

A day in his life

10:00 am: I wake up. I am a late riser and not a morning person at all. I start late, but I am not a lazy person.

11:00 am: I eat a heavy breakfast of parathas or dosa and idli.

12:00 noon: I reach office in time for meetings. Because my office is next door to my house, I can reach in a couple of minutes and I am never late for meetings.

4:00 pm: I eat the lunch I've brought with me from home.

4.30 pm onwards: No looking back. I am busy meeting people and co-ordinating with my partner in the US. I don't stop until all my work for the day is done.

1:00 am: I drive in my Lexus Land Cruiser to south Mumbai and meet friends. If I finish early, I go to Salt Water Grill for a couple of drinks.

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Case Study

Television is going to boom in the next three years.In the future, the bigger companies will control post-production

What is the next big thing that is going to happen in television?

Television is going to boom in the next three years. However, it might stabilise after a while. In the future, the bigger companies will control post-production. Providing software is still going to be big. For people who are new to the industry, it is important to get into reality shows because there's a lot of scope in this area. It's all about the number game. There will definitely be an audience for everything.

 How do you chill out?

 Whenever I finish work, even if it's at 1 am, I hang out with my friends. I need that time out - that's my space. Most of friends stay in south Mumbai, so we end up meeting at each other's offices at 2 am. My newfound passion is poker, but we don't gamble. Sometimes, I like to celebrate Sunday. I switch my phone off, and chill out with friends at the Salt Water Grill. That's our favourite haunt.

Do you watch a lot of TV?

I don't watch television. But so what? If I make French fries, it doesn't mean I have to eat them. But I do love French fries!

How do you work on ideas? Do you discuss them with others or do market surveys?

Each time I get an idea, I bounce it off my family. Suniel Shetty is also my mentor now. I discuss my thoughts with my group of close friends. They are achievers in their own right, and I respect their opinions. I don't go by market research. If market research or surveys work, they would all turn producers. I work purely on instinct.

Apart from The Biggest Loser, what other projects are you working on?

 I have acquired the rights for Apprentice, the US show in which Donald Trump evaluates business plans. It was a huge hit. We are in the process of zeroing in on a tycoon in India. We have to figure out whether we can rope in Gautam Singhania or Vijay Mallya. I have also floated a company with actor Suniel Shetty, where we will create original reality show formats. We have something in mind, which will be based around charity events, which will involve well-known celebrities.

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Case Study

rapidfire

Star sign: Capricorn

Favourite bar: Shiro's

You're hooked to: The Internet and Facebook

On religion: Overrated.

One thing you will never do: I would love to try everything once!

Best friend: Riyaaz Amlani of Mocha fame

Favourite drink: Vodka and Sprite

Girlfriends? I am single, ready to mingle.

Chat-up line: I know I talk a lot, but I will give you a fair chance too.

The number of text messages you send in a day: More than 50

Biggest fear: Of being a failure

Would you live with someone before marriage: Of course.

Favourite holiday destinations: London, Istanbul and Lisbon

You look hot in: All my clothes on.

What you want written on your tombstone: I'll be back!

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Case Study

 SUCCESS STORY: POOJA GHAI, ACTRESS AND PRODUCER AI, 29 POOJA GH ducer ress, pro Job: act 7 lakh Salary: Rs per month

 SHE'S THE face of the new mother on TV commercials, but she's far from one-dimensional. From lover to vamp, Pooja Ghai, 29, has done a variety of roles in the more than hundred commercials she has under her belt. She's also act ed in soaps, and today, she's co founded an event management and production company.

"I come from a lower middle class family, and had to start working when I was barely 16 years old," said Ghai. "My dad was a secretary for film stars and he knew a lot of people. So I got small roles in television serials.

But the big break came with Balaji Telefilm's Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thii."

She's also acted in soaps such as Viraasat and Kabhi Aiyee Na Judaii, but has taken a break from acting, concentrating on commercials and her production production house. "There's no fun in soaps anymore," she said. "The storyline on all channels is the same. I want to go back to acting, but there's so much more in television. I want an equal pie of everything."

She has earned the luxury to make choices. A single parent with an eight-year-old son, today Ghai drives a Skoda and earns Rs 7 lakh a month.

"Television is big business now," she said. "When I started, I earned Rs 2,000 a week, and would be so happy about it. But now the scales have changed, and actors get paid as much as Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per day. The boom is definitely here to stay." Ghai herself used to earn between Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 30,000 a day for acting in soaps.

Today, besides continuing to act in commercials, Ghai has joined hands with friend Vikas Kalantri to form White Leaf Entertainment, a company that instituted the Gold television awards. In the first year, in 2007, the awards were held in Mauritius. Ghai is now preparing for the second award function.

The company is also looking at creating original reality show formats and buying the rights to some overseas ones. "Reality is the buzzword now and it's going to rock the small screen in the days to come," she said.

Ghai is also set to launch her television magazine Gold in March. "So much is happening in the television world that there will never be any dearth of gossip to fill our pages!" she said, laughing.

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