Netflix CCO Bela Bajaria

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And I'd like to just start off, we don't normally do introductions anymore, but for the audience who doesn't know, how does someone go from being a cashier at the car wash to becoming the first woman of color to oversee a major U.S. television studio when you were named president of Universal Television. And now you're responsible for one of, if not the largest budget for content in Hollywood. This is your story. The name of the pod is What's Your Story? And we just want to learn all about you. Oh, great, thank you. I'm happy to be here. So how do you... Tell us everybody. That's a lot, yes, exactly. Well, I'm not sure I say the biggest budget in Hollywood, maybe the world. Close and entertain it. Yes, exactly. As far as the way to come to entertainment. You know, I think how does that happen? It's, you know, it's an interesting story and there's so much in retrospect that I learned from those cashier days. And actually when I was a cashier at a car wash, was my parents' car wash. So I was born in London. I'm Indian and my parents are Indian, but for me, from East Africa. And so I lived in Zambia when I was younger, lived in London and we moved to the US in the late 70s. And it was very American dream time, right? And your parents moved slightly before you, right? And my parents moved a few years before I did. Not intentionally, they thought they were gonna come and figure out America, where to live, what to do. And they had the idea they would move to Los Angeles and open car washes. That was really the idea. And Los Angeles really was picked instead of New York or New Jersey or a lot of other places that had a lot of Indians, was because my dad really wanted to recreate that Africa lifestyle, climate, weather, ocean, amazing things for him in Tanzania. And so Los Angeles was it. And I'm very thankful to him. This beautiful, this beautiful 80 degrees that we're living in March is great. And that was really kind of come to America, American dream opportunity. And at that point we were living in London and my parents moved a couple of years before I did. Really they thought they were just gonna move a few months before I did. And then was your mom pregnant at the time? My mom was not my mom. My brother was six months old. And so they took my brother with them. And I was very close to my grandparents and to my mom's older brothers and sisters. And so I stayed in the UK as they got settled. And then I just couldn't get a visa. So then became sort of the few years that I didn't see them because if they left they couldn't get back in and I couldn't sort of go. You know, I didn't get a visa. The interesting thing is as a parent now, I can't imagine not being with my kids during that age. But I was the first and oldest grandchild. So I lived with all my aunts and uncles and my grandparents. So I was completely dogged on. You were very loved. Yes. I was loved beyond. So again, you think way back that when, right? No FaceTime and phone calls were expensive. So it was really like every couple of weeks, right? We get on the phone and talk to my parents. And you were like five to eight? I was like four, yeah, like four to like eight. Like four and a half to like eight. And the interesting thing was though, I really was so spoiled and so taken care of and so left. So I don't remember it being traumatic. It's like missing them, right? It was what I would imagine now. Where I look back at and go, oh, that must have been really traumatic. But I don't know why I was so taken care of that I didn't. Well, that's good. So much like maternal, paternal affection and care from so many people and I'm still very close to all those aunts and uncles because they raised me. Are they still in the UK or are they here now? Besides one aunt, everybody else, you know, moved. Oh, that's great. Yeah. So it was great. Cause when I got to move, then I got to like the all kind of came with. So it was fun cause then I had all my, your community, yeah. All my community together, which was great. Cause then I had everybody who really, you know what, really took great care of me and was very supportive. So that was fun. So when we, when I moved here, you know, there was so much that was really impactful about filming TV because when I moved to LA, Indian girl, British accent grew up with a big extended Indian family, had parents that were self-employed. So they weren't in corporate America, but it accessed lots of different people. It was really kind of a big Indian community. And when I moved here, first I got teased by the law excited British accent. Even though I wish I had kept it. That you kept it. Somebody should have told me way better to keep it as you get older. But when you're nine, you can't, the sort of brown Indian and the British accent was a bit too much. And so something had to go. The brown was obviously not going anywhere. And so I would go home every single day after school and I would watch film and TV. And it was to do a couple of things. One, to get rid of my accent. This is why I sound like I'm on a TV show in the US basically. What were you watching? Well, I watched so many things. I watched I dream of Jeannie and Bewitched and Goomar Pahdwell. Did you try to wiggle your nose? I know. Oh my God, all this time. I could never get it. I can't, I can't do the eyebrow thing. I could scrunch it. I could do the eyebrow thing, but I have too much Botox now. You say able to do it. I used to try to do the twitchy thing. Dallas and Dynasty, we'd actually watch as a family. I always say it feels very big Bollywood, a lot of melodrama, big multi-generational kind of story. So I would watch it to learn American culture because it was very different right then growing up in an Indian family. And even though nobody looked like me on TV, it was sort of a really interesting way to kind of understand a little bit more about American culture. You know, and ultimately like John Hughes movies, which were very defining to me about trying to really understand kind of high school kind of in the US. But the one thing though, I was always struck by and I remember, and I remember it. I don't even know what it meant to me, but I remember that I knew that we all watched the same TV shows and movies. So when I went to school, right, we all watched B-Witch, we all watched Brady Bunch, we all watched, and it was the one thing didn't matter what our background was, right? We were connected by this thing. And that definitely made me feel less weird that we were connected by this. And so I was always struck and kind of struck by this like power of storytelling or the influence of filming TV. And I had no idea that could be a job because that's just was so far from anything I would even know existed. But I always remembered that. That's really fascinating and the impact that it had on you. This isn't about hype or luck, it's about optimization. Living stronger, thinking clearer, and performing better every day. At Game Day Men's Health, that's the standard. Game Day Men's Health helps men improve testosterone, energy, and sexual performance with real testing and face-to-face visits. They help men reach their full potential with science-backed care from testosterone optimization and peptide therapy to ED and performance support with personalized treatment plans. With over 400 clinics across North America, they've got you covered. No long waits, no online guesswork. When life demands you be at your best, every day is Game Day. Learn more or book your visit at GameDayMen'sHealth.com. So at what point in time, because I've read a few different things, seen a few different interviews, and you said you knew you wanted to get into entertainment and that you wanted to be the head of a studio? I did. I did. You know, I wanted to get into entertainment. It was kind of this thing in the back of my mind always that I wanted to be in entertainment, but I didn't really know what that meant. I knew I was in a writer, or actor, or director, or any of those things. I know I didn't have that skill. And I got probably like high school, college. I was a little bit like... And I kind of felt like I was a producer, but I didn't really know what that meant. But I understood like, oh, maybe I could put the pieces together, but I'm not any of the craft part of it. And I didn't really know what any of that was as a job. But I always... I was kind of drawn to what that would be. And that was really for an Indian girl, especially at that time, to go into Hollywood. Like, it really didn't make any sense. It was unheard of of what's the path. People hadn't really done it. And, you know, I was lucky that my dad always told me that I could be anything I ever wanted to be, and I believed him. And so it didn't really occur to me that the path wasn't... So linear. Yeah, it worked for me. Like that it wasn't... A lot of people are kind of like, well, why did you think you could do it? And I was like, I don't know. I never thought I couldn't do it. And at some point I... So way back in the digs, it was a long time ago, there was something called the Hollywood Creative Directory. Which is basically a phone book. Everybody, all the companies in Hollywood. Hollywood Creative Directory, that's like exactly what it is. And somebody is only... It was a physical book. A physical book. Yes, like the phone book. Like the phone book. And somebody said, oh, all the companies are in there. And so I just wrote letters, just kind of for a general, to every single company. And written, typed. Typed. Okay. Typed. But to every single, like literally started at A. And it was tiny companies, big companies. And CBS Network had called me back for a general. And it was with a woman in the story department. And I don't even know why she was like, okay, I'll meet you for a general. And then she said, look, we don't have anything, but you know, this woman down the hall has had a temp assistant for all these years. She's hiring. She's very difficult to work for. But she's hiring, you could try that. And so I really, I interviewed with her five times. I did a 10 page. Five times. Yeah. I did a 10 page essay written application for her. Wow. What was the essay about, do you remember? She would just ask all kinds, it was all like different essay questions about. Like some would be like, you know, what's your favorite, you know, talk about, cause it was TV movies and mini series, like a really kind of epic, you know, long form or defining movie or mini series, right? And so I was like, roots. Like I was just like, oh my God, what am I gonna come up with? But it was lots of that, or what would you do when people come into the office? And it was like, it was interesting that it was a written test. And I remember just sitting in the lobby, like filling it out. It was just like pages and pages of a handwritten, you know, test. And when I got the job, finally, and I think she kind of gave it to me, cause it had been so long. And I just said, like, I can't keep coming to you. Like how many more times am I gonna interview with you? And also my parents gave me good advice. They're like, you should just tell her, like just do a try. Like you don't have an assistant anyways. You might as well try me for 30 days. Let me be, let me tell. Right, and let me tell. And then I pitched that. And then she said like, ooh, it's kind of big corporation. Like we can't just like, I can't kind of trial you and fire you in 30 days. And so, but then I think just even proposing that, she was like, okay, fine. And when I got into the business at that time, and that was March of 96, here we are, exactly 30 years. And when I got into the business, I feel like I was in for a few months. Like I knew enough at that point about the business. I mean, I barely do anything, but I understood kind of how it worked. And that's really when I was like, oh, I want to run a TV studio. That was kind of early days. And I wanted to be on the studio side. I wanted to be closer to the making of things, working closer with writers and directors and just the more of the making, because the studio kind of is definitely more of that. And that's when I was like, oh, my dream is I'm gonna run a TV studio. Which is still pretty early on. Like you're an assistant. Yes, eventually that was the dream. It wasn't gonna happen, you know. Right, no, but I mean, what is the, do you think is the importance of dreaming big, of having big goals? Because if you don't ever have that goal, you're certainly never gonna get that, right? And look, I think it's interesting, because I've been asked a lot, which is so interesting to me, interviews through the years of like, kind of wasn't that dream too big, right? Like how could you even think you could, right? Which is also a crazy question. Yeah, yeah. There's a lot, a lot, a lot in there of why, but you know, and I was like, I go clearly though, here's the thing, the dream wasn't big enough. Right, right. Because the job I ended up with was way bigger than that job, right? This job didn't exist. That was the dream job. This is the dream, dream job. But CCO of Netflix didn't exist in a global way, right, that this job does. Streaming didn't even exist. Streaming didn't exist, like, so I couldn't even dream, but like this would be the dream job. I couldn't even dream of this. So I was like, actually the dream wasn't too big. The dream actually ended up being not big enough. And, but it was interesting, and I think the sort of following gut or, well, kind of why not me, right? Why can't I write in TV studio? It was interesting how many people around me were kind of like either people who look like you don't, or well, that's really ambitious of a goal. And I was like, yeah, it is. And I'm going to work my ass off to get it. But that was, that was sort of, that was the goal. You know, Liz, I've been looking to find the best deal on concert tickets, which is why I want to give the sponsor of today's episode and new sponsor, SeatGeek, a huge shout out. SeatGeek is the number one rated ticketing app. There are more than 70,000 events listed on SeatGeek, including concerts, sports, festivals, and of course, tons of great WWE matches coming up, including WrestleMania. Including what? WrestleMania. WrestleMania. SeatGeek has your back. Each ticket is rated on a scale of one to 10, so you know you're getting a good deal. So look for the green dots. Green means good, red, bad. Plus every ticket is backed by their buyer guarantee. Use code STORY10, S-T-O-R-Y, one zero for 10% off your next set of tickets at SeatGeek. That's 10% off any tickets with promo code STORY10. Make sure you click the link in the description to download the app and have the code automatically added to your account so you can use it later. Thank you, SeatGeek. So I want to hear more about what it means to work your ass off to get it, right? Because working hard is something that's imperative to really achieving the goals that you wanna achieve. But I wanna understand the connection from the lessons that you learned from being a cashier at the car wash because you said it was a cutthroat kind of business. And I'm just curious, the bridge there and sort of the lessons you learned working with people or what you even meant by the car wash. I think, look, I think working at the car wash for me is more about it's the work ethic. And I think lots of people, not just immigrants but definitely immigrants too, like so for my family, right, to come to America and try to make it. In a new place, new land, new build a community, start over, show up and go, okay, we're gonna try to make a go of it here. And again, because my parents wanted to write that opportunity for their kids. One part I think of the drive in the work ethic is I was the oldest kid and I understood and saw cause I was sitting in the UK and then moved here, obviously, the sacrifice my parents made. So the responsibility that I felt to make it was real. Right, I felt to make good on what they did and what they sacrificed, it wasn't important that I made it. And so that was part of the drive in the work ethic. And I'd say the car wash was more about because we own the car wash, right, it's like running your own business, right, and what that takes, right. What's that community you build around you? How do you treat people who work with you or for you and you just sort of treat everything like it's your own there and you know, I've always said when I was at CBS and I had my cubicles and assistants and I waited until like 10 p.m. for the messenger to pick up, you know, the pouch and people were like, why are you staying here until 10? I was like, I wanna make sure it goes out. And they're kind of like, well, that's not Europe. I mean, who cares, just leave it here and somebody will get it. But for me, it was my mini car wash. My cubicle was the car wash, right, Universal Television Studio was my car wash, right, Netflix in a different senses. But it was this responsibility of it's my business. And I'm going to, that means how do people feel when they work here? What is my responsibility? I'm accountable for the culture, I'm accountable for what happens here. So I'd say the cashier at our car wash was really the learnings were really about the work ethic and this is your responsibility, right? This is you are accountable for this space in the area. You're not just here to do this one job. And I think growing up in family businesses, it, yay! You're like, and by the way, there's no job and my parents had, right, too big, too small. Oh yeah. Anything you would ask somebody else to do at this car wash and that could be wiping these cars down, cleaning this, somebody leaves a slurpee on the floor, like pick it up, whatever you would do, whatever you would ask somebody to do, you about to be willing to do it yourself. Yep, and set the example. It sounds like leadership was a real key lesson that you learned there too. Yeah, and I think my parents really created an environment, like my dad passed away a long time ago, but my mom, like we still have those employees, many from them from 45, 50 years ago, and their kids, right? Or their family members, right? Because it was this, what they built, right? As far as like the team together, the familial feeling or the community, I mean, there was a lot in there, which I think I definitely took from. And then emulated. And emulated. Yeah. And, you know, I think that's, you know, a lot of it. And so for me was, you know, when I, so 2011, I went to Universal, so right, there's the, you know, ooh, dream happened. I got to run a TV studio. Amazing. And so again, seems like I had the dream in half a bit, it was still 1996 or 2011, right? I took a lot of things happen in between to get there, but I do think it is important of like, where do I want to go? And it's interesting. I don't think you always have to be locked into what, ultimately that goal is because you learn things along the way. There might be another opportunity that arises, which is actually better or different. And I definitely took a path and it wasn't a straight, you know, it wasn't a linear one. And so I think there's interesting to have this big goal of what you want to achieve or the impact you want to have, but also be open to when something else comes, right, and surprises you. Like when I came to Netflix in 2016, I did different kinds of jobs that I had never done before. But at that point I was open to learning new things. And I was like, oh, I should, you know, gratifying, liberating and terrifying once you have the dream job. Then you go, what do I, oh, I was working towards this one goal, what do I do from here? We'll go back, let's go back for a second. So 2016, so it was 11, I started Universal 2016, I was fired. And it's, you know, a so difficult and complicated when it happens. So emotional when it happens, not great for the Indian stoic genes to sort of handle. Well, and all the pressure that you've put on yourself, right, you know, and you then achieved the dream job and now suddenly it's not there anymore or what you thought was the dream job. And, you know, thought, you know, the studio was successful. Oh, I treated people fairly and right. I did, I made their decisions for the business like it was my car wash, like they were, they were. Right, and you did some unusual things, right? But selling content to other studios, which hadn't necessarily been done before. And I've read that that, whatever you feel comfortable sharing, what was their reasoning? You know, look, I knew there was always gonna be a personality thing. There was also the way it was structured and the reporting lines were a little murky, which is always, is not good, right? When you have clarity. And historically in Hollywood, there's this tension between sibling studios, you know, the sister's studio and the network and the studio has to do usually what's right for the studio. I'm running a business, I'm running this business, I went to Business Successful, and which means that new sales shows outside. You do that to support the creators and showrunners who were like, oh, I came up with this idea, I wrote this thing. And you believed in it. And I believed in it. This network, my sister network doesn't want it. We're not gonna like light it on fire, it's taking a drawer, like it's a creator who we value, who's amazing and has a vision of a really great show. And we are gonna go to Fox and go sell it, or we are gonna go to Netflix and go sell, you know, Unbreakable Commissure Man or Master of Nandor, different things like, we are gonna do that. That's, for example, it's right for the studio business. Right, that's part of the business. My job, I'm running the studio. And it was the right thing to do to support creators and talent. That many times can mean conflict with the sister network who's a little bit like, well, we want your good stuff and we want you to be successful, we don't really want you to be successful outside and give other people head shows, right? So it's historically a very, it's always a hand. And, you know, it was a very emotional, difficult roller coaster, all the stages, all of grief, all of the things happen when you get fired. A very hard thing to tell your three kids you went fired. It's just there's no- What did you tell them? How did you tell them? It was a memorial weekend. And how old were they roughly? 2016, so, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. So, 14, 11, 12 and then like, say, what is that? What is that? Yeah, nine, nine. So like nine. Thank you, Elise. Nine, nine, 14, nine, 13, 15. So early teens. So I think, you know, look, I just think it's, you know, these are things that people don't talk about where it's, when you have to go home and sort of have that conversation. They're also, I had to have lots of hard conversations with my girls too. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and you kind of want to give it to them straight, but also not burden. Right. Then with the thing that's like, you don't have to worry about money or something. Well, and then mine had the whole family lens too. Yes, yes. You know, tricky. Yeah, for sure. But so that's why I'm curious like how you, because you're obviously, well, to me, you seem to be such a great mom, you know, and you talk about the time that you have, and you know, you're obviously a very busy executive, but when you're home with your kids, that your time is theirs. So someone who's so on top of that and communicating with your kids and who comes from such a strong family at base anyway, what was the, what did you want them to take away from the conversation and the example that you said? You know, I don't know what I wanted them to take away from the conversation. My husband was incredibly supportive, which was amazing, because I was just like, ooh, what am I gonna say? And then I figured I just had to give it to them straight, but be like, you don't need to worry, right? It's fine, but it's, again, fire is like, but I'm not fine, but I'm gonna pretend like I'm fine. And then a couple of things that were interesting for me was that I realized early on, first I had to realize, ooh, I'm gonna have to go through the roller coaster of emotions, which I'm not great at, but I was like, okay, I'm gonna have to go on the ride, and I'm gonna have to go through it, because I can't get to the other side without going through it. I had a lot of amazing people who were incredibly supportive during this time, just colleagues and just a lot of people in the industry, which helped because I felt I did all these things. I thought I was fair, right? You made business together. I thought I did a good job. It didn't matter, it didn't matter. And I was like, oh, then it does matter, right? And all these people continue to be supportive and around, and even when I didn't have a drive, I kept checking with me. I did realize early on though that however I navigated this in the way I showed up was gonna be what my kids would remember. What's the lesson I wanted them to learn? I wanted them to learn as you can absolutely get fired from big dream job that's very public, and I was still gonna get back up. And I think we talk about this a lot, right? It's very motivational. There's posters and pillow stitched over it. There's so much about failure and how good it is. But we don't really celebrate failure and sort of talk about it that way. And I did, I was very aware that at some point they were gonna grow up and look back at that and go, oh, how did my mom show up during this time? Or, oh, I'm not scared of this setback in my own career because I saw my mom get fired very publicly and I saw her go and have some awesome career after. At that time, I figured it would be, look, at that point, I think once you get fired you kind of go, oh, I could better myself. It's actually very liberating. And I will say in retrospect, there's nothing I have learned more from than that. No matter what. Because you learned about yourself? Learned about myself, I think as much as we say, oh, my job's my identity, I have all this, it's not that. You do have to sort of then go, ooh. I am more of an identity than I thought. I never really thought. And when you worked so hard to get there and then it's taken from you. But then you don't think intellectually that it is tied up to your identity or ego. And you're like, oh, it is interesting. Okay, what does that really mean? And I think liberating in the sense of, I'm not scared to get fired again. I just better myself. What's the worst that can happen? Would I get fired? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I've been. And there is something very powerful about that. And it's, of course, it took me, it's been many years. So now I can tell you all this. It took me a long time to say the word fire. Because it's tricky. Say it out loud. It's tricky. And it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Did you have any help getting through that couple year period or you just kind of rolled through it? I rolled through it. I say what I'm lucky for during that time is that a couple things, it was summer. So all my kids were home. So I really got to be home and present. For like two, three months. For three months. But it was a beautiful, awesome, cool summer. We had a safari planned already. It's his hands in the hands of the same group. So it was amazing to go be on safari, never take my phone because I was with my family. And just actually really be there, which is really a great place to go for perspective. And how small we are on the whole large cycle of life. And so I mean that, but I had the three months where I really could be present and at home. And I could pick up from sports camp and Yeah, do all the things. And really be there and get some space and figure out what I actually wanted to do next because the first inclination was like, I should get a job, right? I have to go work. And then it was like, no, I need to sit back and really kind of like have some space and time and figure out what I want to do next. I also have, my mom is incredibly supportive. And I said, my husband was, and we're really great sounding boards. But I think I have this amazing, I did have this amazing community. And I think when people will say sometimes about Hollywood of like, oh, wait, so cut throat or people aren't supportive, everybody's competitive. I found an amazing, supportive, incredible community in Hollywood who really stayed in touch and stood by me and were like, offered me jobs or willing to find me jobs and lots of things. So I had that and I'd say I have a very strong village of a lot of everything, spiritual advisors, woo-woo everything, tap into lots of being grounded and yoga. There's a lot of things I sort of did during that time that really centered me, but also I was aware, or I had good advice of I also had to just go through it. Yeah, you have to experience it. Yeah. Let's say growth is painful, but it's worth it. That's something that I learned along the way. Yes, yes. And it was definitely, you know, that was, I was like, oh, this is uncomfortable. I think that's supposed to be good. It's supposed to lead to it, right? Yes, exactly. I was like, lean into it. And for the first month, I was just like, ooh, no, thank you. I'm gonna shove that to the side. We'll feel that later. We're gonna leave that over there. But it's so interesting, right? With time and the learning and the growth and what happened. It's interesting. I don't know for me if I didn't have those three kids at home. I don't really know what that'll look like. I was super aware of what did I want to model for them. Yeah. And you can never get that summer back, right? Like you got to be present with them. Yeah. And that part was so fun. Yeah. Cause I was just, ooh, this is fine. Have you heard? I've heard all day. Have they said to you any comments about, like now on the other side of things, have they said anything about that time at all? No, I think they love so much that, you know, I was, I guess clearly vindicated in so many ways. Yeah. I think they love that. You know, they used to grow up going to, cause we literally lived so close to it, universal, all the time. I'm not sure they go as much as they used to. Yeah. It's not the same fondness. Sure, sure. Different. Yes, it's different. No, we haven't really said anything. I think they were just like, ooh, Netflix. And for them, right, Netflix is very relevant. Yeah, it's the coolest. And when we started working there, so I think they've just got to also, they were also old enough, even at that time in this time, to really see, right, the journey and the growth. And I think also when I went to Netflix, I was like, oh, I'm going to go, you know, when I met with Ted, he was like, oh, I'm going to offer you, he's like, you should come start the Inscripted Group, and you should oversee licensing, and this new co-production model. And I was like, well, for 20 years, I've done scripted television, and I'm ready to studio. I don't know how to do any of those things, you just pitch me. And he was like, yeah, I just hire smart people, you'll figure it out. And the good news was I had had those few months to have a little distance. And then I was kind of like, Why not? I should have learned something new. Yeah. I don't know those things. I actually should add that, right? That would be interesting. And I was like in the right headspace, I wouldn't have been right away. Because it wasn't as big or seemingly fancy enough of a, you know, if you were running a studio, so you're going to start the Inscripted Group at Netflix. And Netflix, think about 2016 was not Netflix today. And, but I really was like, I really don't care what people think or say. And I was really more in the curiosity of like, Oh, I just want to stretch and learn something new. Do you think you cared about what people thought or said before? I think there was something caught up with the title of the job. Yeah. I think there's something of like, I finally made president of a studio, right? There was something, right? And when you do that, it's hard to then go, Oh, am I just going to take a different job? Last year title thing, right? Is it a demotion? I could, I had, and look, and I love people saying, Oh, but you had more equivalent job offers. And I was like, no, I know I did, but I already did that. Right. Why am I doing it again? And I think having those few months of really having space and time to get back to the curiosity of wanting to like learn something different. And I thought at that point, everybody kept saying, you know, streaming is the future. And I was like, no, I think streaming is now we're just not paying attention to it. And I knew Ted Serendipus from, cause I'd done Kimmy Schman and Master of None. And, you know, I was always fond of him and he was always so smart and was such a fan of film and TV. And his energy is kind of infectious, but he really was like, it'll be fine. You'll learn new things. I was like, okay. Right. I mean, it really, it literally in that same day, moment, hour, I made the decision. It felt right. Okay. Yeah. And there's not a moment of imposter syndrome. There's not a little bit of you that's like, what if I fail here? No. And I'd say for a couple of reasons. So I'll say one is because it's the sort of, I knew I was confident to bet on myself. I came into a studio, I started the whole thing. I hired everybody. Like I just felt like I had, I had done so many different things by then that I had the skill set of like building a new thing. Right. Going into kind of more a company that had tech DNA, even though an entertainment company was kind of the learning and the growth of it. And I have a thing that I don't, I refuse to sort of entertain the imposter syndrome thing because I think men never get asked it. So I just think nobody knows how to do the job until they have the job. Like nobody does. There's no way. As prepared as you are, you have all the skills and they are very applicable, right? Obviously to the new thing. And then you learn it. But I just feel like once I done the work and I felt like I definitely had done the work by then that I was more excited. That doesn't mean I didn't have like a little, ooh, stomach ache. Right, right. Do I know, I mean, look, in a couple of years later, I went to expand everything outside of the US. And just that. That's one of the questions I was going to ask you. That was, you know, again, all of those are a little sort of, ooh, there's a little stomach ache, but I have always learned to go towards that because that means it's uncomfortable. So I'm stretching and there's growth there. Right, I think when I offered something that, if I'm like, yeah, I can do that, that's probably not. You probably don't want me to do it. Because that just feels like I'm not probably excited enough to do it. And so, no, I just think, and I think, I definitely felt at that time, I already been fired. So I'm not, I was just fine to bet on myself. I love that. Yeah, it really is such a position of strength. I know I'm like nine and a half years or something, yeah. Yeah, well, and look what you've built. Which I was like, I'll do this and maybe if I don't like it, or I'll learn for a year or two, then I'll leave. Like I just, like I just had a different relationship with a job and like I want to come and learn. And I wasn't scared to get fired. So even if I like, I didn't, I never grew up to be fired. I didn't do a good job. If I didn't do a good job, I didn't know it. If I didn't like it, right, I was like, okay. Right, right, yeah. WWE World returns to Las Vegas this April 16th through the 20th. And it's the can't miss destination during WrestleMania week. WWE World brings the WWE Universe closer than ever to the superstars, legends and iconic moments that define WWE. With immersive exhibits, exclusive merchandise and experiences, you won't find anywhere else. See superstars like Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan, J. Uso, Dominic Mysterio, Tiffany Stratton and many more with even more appearances still to come. Tickets are on sale now at WWEWorld.com. Save 10% with promo code yourstory10. The number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest, returns to the Javits Center in New York City from July 16th to the 19th, 2026. Fanatics has just announced the return of Fanatics Games, bringing back its high stakes cross sport competition where everyday fans go head to head with some of the biggest names in sports. The 2026 Fanatics Games introduces an expanded format with a $2 million total prize pool and new nationwide qualifying opportunities for fans to compete alongside elite athletes. The inaugural winner, Tom Brady, as well as reigning fan champion, Matt Denish, will be back. WWE superstars, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Cody Rhodes and J. Uso will also be joining the competition for a shot at the title. Head to fanaticsfest.com to apply to compete or grab your tickets to Fanatics Fest. You don't wanna miss out. So I think a few different things. Cause when you're a cashier, you're interacting with a lot of different customers, right? It's not just the employee base that you're dealing with, but you're interacting with the actual customers. And I had the opportunity, I was switchboard operator for our company before there was automation and everything. And I dealt with a lot of fans, and also partners and everybody else, but a lot of fans. There was no fan services department at that time. But I do think, speaking to your customers is so important and understanding who they are and what they need and what they like and what they don't like. And it seems like your personability, if that's a word, the way that you interact with people was really started maybe there. And in terms of building the relationships that you then went on to build, that then paid it forward for you, when you did have this really hard situation that you went through, the people who you were there for were actually there for you. And you speak about the importance of relationships in terms of even creating content. And the writers, the directors, the show runners, et cetera. And you talk a lot about the importance of being in person. So again, I'm sort of trying to tie some bridges together in terms of people and the importance of people in your line of work. Yeah, I think, look, it's such a relationship business, right? It's, I mean, look, obviously, you know what you do. It's a lot of people come together in a very collaborative environment and creates magic. And great story, people have different skillset, different personalities, and everybody comes together to create this. So the relationships, again, trust, vulnerability, you know, and for me, it was always like building those relationships because I understood that a writer, director, and actor, I mean, they are putting themselves out there in the most vulnerable way, right? Telling a story, you know, showing up in front of people and like, you know, performing and what that really takes. And so having that trust and building a relationship, right, is important and the, you know, this is important to you, so it's important to me, like I'm gonna support your vision. But I think also having that trust is when things get hard or real tough conversations have to happen, like we've built a trust and we've built a relationship so we can have that, right, with each other. So I think, you know, that's really important. And I think also so much for me is like, the big Indian extended family, like the village, the community, the people, the relationships, it's just to me, it makes the whole thing go round and round. Yeah, that was the example that was set for you too. Like that's- And does your mom, she still cooks weekly? She does. For hundreds? Hundreds of people. At the Hindu temple? Yes, she's a temple and bellflower and she's still cooking for everybody. She's just under construction. She's making it big renovation and she's just got back from India and bought all the furniture and statues and everything for inside and she's still, she's an amazing cook, so it's very lucky that she- She cooks for hundreds of people, but she does. But I think that- It's instilled in you. So part of it, which probably also makes sense that I'm, besides sort of understanding kind of the power of storytelling and how it connects people and how people feel seen through it, that it makes sense that I, right, drawn to a business and industry thing that is really about- Bringing people together. Hundreds of thousands of people collaborating together. And how do you create that environment, right, for people to do their best work and have fun and be creative and be bold and take swings and what is that about? I mean, you- Yeah, that's what WWE is all about. That's what you do every week. Yeah, and we have, our audience and our talent roster, it's very diverse. People from all different backgrounds, beliefs, socioeconomic places, but they all come together to share this thing that they love, this passion for WWE. It's beautiful and it does bring people together all over the world, which- I've seen it firsthand. I mean, I think it's so interesting to be being just so multi-generational. And even in being there in the audience, I mean, just different ages, different backgrounds, people from all over, I mean, just bases lit up and excited to know every single thing that's going on. It's really- And they wanna bring you into it. Yeah, and they wanna bring you- If you ask somebody, like, so who's that? They're gonna tell you about that. They're not, yeah, exactly. The whole backstory. They wanna share it and they're connected by it. And when I remember, so my grandfather, the grandparents that I lived with in London when we moved here, we'd always watch it together. And my grandfather and I watched it. Oh, so you watched Growing Up? Yeah, Growing Up. Oh, wow. It was such a big thing we did together. And so I really always understood the multi-generational part of it. And I actually remember, he was in the hospital dying, I was in the hospital room and we were, he was there and one of the last things he asked me was to turn the TV on to watch. You're kidding. You're asking. Wow. Yeah, so it was like such a, that's what he wanted to do, but we had always watched it together for a long time. So- Oh, that gives me such goosebumps. So I really understood and I'm always laughing. I'm like, oh my God, what he wanted to do in there, was watch. Well, and probably too, like from your standpoint, you know what it felt like to be vulnerable because you felt like you were so different. And you are obviously an empathetic person. And I think that makes for a great storyteller because you connect with people in an emotional way and you understand the impact that the content's gonna have on the audience at least, of course you hope, but you've hit many home runs. You seem to have quite the knack for it, but also not only from the audience standpoint, but from the creator standpoint. And this is their baby, right? And this is their work of art, but because you're so empathetic, because of who you are, how you were raised and what you went through. I think that's one of the keys to your success. Would you agree with that? Thank you. I think, yeah, look, I think it's all very, genuine in the sense of, I'm just so excited when somebody, it's been 30 years and somebody can still come in and tell a story or have a vision for something and I'm as excited as like the first show or movie ever. This is amazing though, also, I know this about you. And it just, and I don't know if that's also, also, growing up with like really incredible perspective of how lucky and grateful I am to sort of do this job and have this opportunity to do something I dreamt of doing. Like I don't- That you worked your ass off for. I worked my ass off for sure, but like I don't take it for granted, right? Right. It's- Perspective. So fun and it's so rewarding and I get to work with, I mean, the most talented and creative people to ever make film or TV or wrestling that have ever done it in the world, right? Like at this, I mean, it's incredible and to do it all over the world and give access to people, all this film and TV in all different languages, never what happens before, it's like none of that is, you know, is lost on me. And so I think, you know, it's a little bit obviously in the DNA and I just appreciate kind of what that, the connection that people have, right? For sure, this is why when we started talking about WWE, like I love the joy that it brings people, right? And I love the storytelling and you all care so much about the fans, the audience, right? I care a lot about the fans, the audience. And for sure the creators and filmmakers are sort of on my end, but that's because they're trying to tell a story that connects with all these people and that's what WWE does incredibly well. So in some ways it was in a brainer, you know, when we first talked about it, because it's this shared goal and dream of, you know, reaching the audience, you know, in this, and the way that you all have done for so long and that we strive to do kind of, you know. When you were just getting started with live, right? You had only done a couple of live events at that point. So that was a big jump for you as well. Yes, yeah. And live events I believe is another big place where Netflix is investing in general. It's so great and we've, you know, and that's what's been fun also at Netflix. It really is the, okay, what can we surprise the audience with? What's the next thing to do? You know, we're doing film and TV and, you know, unscripted and docs and every animation all around the world. But okay, we know sort of live events, bringing this conversation and moment together, you know, for people is important. And, you know, and having, you know, raw every Monday and sort of bringing that together, but also the live events of, you know, starting with, we have, you know, we had Chris Rock do a live standup, but then, you know, doing the Tom Brady roast and- Which was? Tys and Paul. Tys and Paul. Tys and Paul. Yep. That did, but then also like Canelo Crawford and Paul Joshua and that was doing boxing, not pay-per-view, right? Boxing. Right. In that way, globally access to the whole audience. And, you know, when recently we just, which was really fun, we just did Alex Honnold. Yes. Climbed high, big, but I won. With Seth Rollins doing comedy. Yes. Seth was amazing. And I saw Seth and I was like, you did so well. You were so great. It was so great to have him. It was smart to have commentators because it's a long climb. Yes. And it was great to have them there to risk too. At the, at the, at the, at the, at the, at the, at the, like how did you, you know, it was the only potential downside. Yes. Yes. Trust me. The downside I was like, oh God. Okay. On live teams. Alex was so thoughtful and prepared and confident with his whole team. And they're like, look, we are monitoring, right? Everything, whether everything. And he, you know, when he said, my dream is to do this. And, you know, we're in, we're usually in the business of trying to make dreams come true. So kind of felt in that category. And he was incredibly confident that he could do it. And his wife was very much like, he could do this. And I was like, well, if your wife is there, she's saying it. I'm going to be really confident. But you look, the team was great. And obviously we were very, safety was really the first thing. As far as like the day was supposed to happen is too windy. Right. And it was like, can't do it. No heroics, right? We were like, this is the date and we've promoted it. It was just like, nope. And it was like, okay, we think we're going the next day at this time. But they said, look, it's going to be a game time decision because it was too windy. Right, we're not going to do it. Even though I thought when he went up there, it looked so windy. Right. And they were like, no, they were measuring at every, I think to be sure. Cause it was raining, cause it rained the different, like you can't go. Like you can't do the rain. So he just really, again, I felt like he had very talented person. Done the work. He was so prepared. He just was like, I know how to. But a risk, right? So how do you, what do you think is, well, and one other question I haven't asked you about is how does being Miss India, America and Miss India universe like play into your whole story? Oh, that was so long ago. Somebody told me, they go, don't tell everybody how long ago it was. It was a long time ago. You can tell it was a long time ago. No, you're gorgeous. I went, oh, you're so nice. You know, look, I think it was a really, looking back, which I didn't realize until much later, it was a really powerful part of sort of who I became in my story because when I did Miss India, it was interesting because I didn't want to be an actress or a model and a lot of people kind of knew that. Oh, I didn't want to do that. But I knew I wanted, like I had sort of, I was always like at the shows, like, oh, people running cable. Who's filming what? Let me be with the camera guys. I was always more interested in how the thing was made. But it was a very interesting thing for me because I really feel like it was the time that I really became Indian on my own terms. I wasn't the Indian girl of my parents. This was my culture because I am that. I really sort of found the power of my identity, which was complicated in the US. I wasn't American enough and I wasn't Indian enough. I wasn't Indian enough for Indians and Indian, I wasn't American enough for Americans. So you're kind of, you know, between them in between. And that really, that time of meeting these amazing Indian women around the world and doing the pageant that was very steeped in, you know, or, you know, my culture and really just owning and my own Indian is so much in there was really, and it was during kind of that era that I was like, oh, if I combine the Indian parts and the culture of the community, there's so much I love about it, right? The group, all of that. And this kind of American, go after what you want, individuality, swagger, all the rest that comes with that. If I can actually combine them both, I don't have to pick. And I think for many years it was like, are you this or that? And that was kind of during that time that I could like go on stage or after I won, right? I would have to show up in every country and speak on stage and like having that. So that definitely builds a base. So there's a lot of experience, you know, I got through that, but I think personally, it was really the time where the superpower of being the Indian part and the American part, like coming together was interesting. So I didn't have to do that work later on or in the workplace, but I know other people had like had to do that work. After. Later, I felt like by the time I started working, I had like really owned this and was very comfortable with this identity. And I didn't feel like I had to be somebody else in the workplace or put on a different thing. Like, and I know a lot of people from different groups feel that. And so I think that was like a lot of work done. And then on the practical level, when I walked into an interview, I had done so many, I'd gone around the world. Media training. I was media training. So I didn't even know that at that point. Obviously I'd had all this experience. So I could like have an interview and a conversation and I could show up. Well, I think, I mean, I still didn't know really anything about the business at that point, but I think at least I had enough like practical, real world, go out in public, talk to strangers. Right. Which is so part. And telling your story. I have a shop that tells your story. And how to, cause that's, you're almost creating content in a way, right? When you're doing that. Because you are, you're out there performing. And then you did have to do a dance. I did. I did an Indian dance. And we have the footage. I don't even know where that footage is. I was like, where is the footage? Yeah, it's exactly. I did an Indian dance. I did an Indian dance cause everybody was a little bit like that's what you just have to do. Right. To be clear, just so everyone knows, there was no bathing suit. Oh, okay. Part of that. Okay, okay. Cause. So for anybody who's looking. The Indian culture thing. That's just not, that's just not the vibe. But it really turned out to be an incredible experience. And it's tricky with all the stigma of what a pageant means or could represent and all that. But for me in the community and what it taught me and really had me sort of embrace fully who I was and at 20. Such a gift. You know, was amazing. That's amazing. And do you think when you were fired. You dug deep in the vault. A little bit. A little bit. The pageant is not easily accessible. I mean, there is a footage. Yeah. Yeah. Apparently. But do you think when you did get fired and you said you were, you know, trying to figure out your identity as you had now become your dream job and the president and running the studio. Did you fall back at all on that, on who you found yourself to be in those pageants? Like understanding who you are as a person is such a gift, I think. And especially someone who struggled early with, you know, which side do I, am I on? And oh, I actually don't have to pick a side. I can just be me. I think I really anchored back on this foundation of a really strong sense of community and family. And all those aunts and uncles and grandparents who raised me and my parents. Like I had this really, this really strong sense of really this, well, it was interesting. Cause I had this in the Indian community and my family and that foundation and strong foundation of like my kids and my husband, but this larger Indian community that when you can kind of really feel loved and taken care of and have that kind of real center, like it just right back to the core to get back to the center, which I did some work on like, ooh, let's just take out all the doughnuts into the noise and get back to the core of the center. Which again, I think allowed me to go, okay, what do I want to do next? And I'll listen to any of the noise. I think that was really helpful. And I really did have this strong community in Hollywood and these friends and colleagues that really kind of stay with. I mean, even Richard White's from your shop, like there's not a week he did not call me. Really? Incredible. I was gonna ask you, is there someone, you know, that stands out to you that just, you know, I had so many, I had some like a great group of people during, and look at the ones that surprised you, which are so lovely of like, oh, you just called and checked in. Like, it was just like, no, you, we did that deal and you were so fair or you always responded or you championed my show and other people went in, and I haven't forgot that and I'm, whatever I can do. You know what I mean? You had those things, which is so lovely because part of it is like, oh, I feel like I really did genuinely care and do the work and does it matter and I care how people feel, right? How did I make you feel? That's where hopefully you've worked with us and that was so lovely. But I do remember and Richard and I were friendly for sure. We had a friendship, but really that he didn't miss a week of calling was really like lovely. Showing up when it really matters. And showing up when you don't have the job where you can buy. Right. Right. Right? Yeah. Because there is plenty of ways to get anything out of that. Yeah, there is definitely parts of that you have to understand and I understand in these jobs when you're in the chair and the chair has the power. That's right. That's just a reality of how these things go. And then there's the friendships, relationships, people who you actually have built something with. And I don't expect that from everybody that should. Right. That it shouldn't actually be what this is, but yeah. It was pretty, I learned a lot from it. Well, I have to say, Maya Angelou has this beautiful quote and I say it all the time and people who listen to the pot all the time probably at nausea. Yeah. But it's people will never remember what you said, they'll never remember what you did, but they'll always remember how you made them feel. And you are making all of us feel something all over the world with the content that you're creating, with all of the people that you're reaching. You're responsible for what, 18 to $20 billion worth of content. I mean, that's insane. That is just remarkable. You've shared with all of us and you've made us feel so inspired as well. And just congratulations on your journey. I'm so proud WWE has partnered with Netflix. Thank you. And I look forward to all the amazing things that we're gonna continue to do together, but just wishing you every success. You're a beautiful person. Oh, thank you. Really, congratulations. Thank you. Well, I appreciate it. You've done incredible things there and I've admired your career for a long time. And what the WWE partnership has been incredible. And I think what you all have created there too, which I see when we work with your talent, who comes to, when Seth comes to our events or John Cena's in a movie with, they really have this like connection, community connection. They care so much. They're so positive and they, this work ethic and they have this real joy that they bring to fans on. So what I love is they're so good at that. So when they come to our events, they just are like, we want to meet everybody. They're all so good at this. But really the partnership again, this like just wanting to like continue with this, having the storytelling that touches people and then surprises them and takes them on a journey is, you know, you do it, you all do it so incredibly well. So I think it has been such a great partnership. And I'm excited for like more things. You know, straight to things was this year, but there's more things to do together. Especially internationally too. Yeah, so many things. And so many of our talent are native to, you know, other countries as well. And as you're building, there's just so much opportunity. Thank you. No, thank you.