‘IPL will go on. It will get bigger and it will get better’

Nita Ambani: Absolutely. My family doesn’t know what to do with an obsessed mother who watches only cricket channels on TV,whether it is Ranji Trophy or Deodhar Trophy,even County cricket in England. I just love the game.

Shekhar Gupta: Even when India plays Bangladesh?

Nita Ambani: I watched that too. I must tell you this story. We were in Kenya for a holiday and there was rain and thunderstorm and we were stuck in our tents. And all that I tried to do was to get an Internet connection so that I could watch the India Vs Bangladesh series and I did watch that one.

Shekhar Gupta: We know how committed you are to your team and how hard you have worked and how far the team came. How did you take the disappointment?

Nita Ambani: I had said in my interview just before the finals that may the best team win. And in sports,I think,it’s not just about taking wins but also about handling losses. And that’s what I have learnt living with these boys for the last several weeks. But I must tell you,it has been a dream run. It has been a journey that has been unforgettable for me. And it’s not just about lifting the title. Surely I was disappointed,but it is what you have gained in your journey of life that matters. And for me,cricket has been a big learning experience.

Shekhar Gupta: But T20 is also a bit of a lottery. A single match can go this way or that.

Nita Ambani: It could. I mean,people say it can be luck,it can be lottery,but we did very well in all our League matches. If you see,we were the table toppers and I betted on my youngsters,really. When I came back from South Africa,all that I did was scout around for young talent who could add to the team and I think they made me proud.

Shekhar Gupta: Just that,on that day,things did not quite work out.

Nita Ambani: Yes. I think it was one bad day in the six weeks of cricket that we had.

Shekhar Gupta: In fact,I heard Dhoni say this morning in one of his press interactions before going to the World Cup that in this format,a weak team can always defeat a much stronger team in one match.

Nita Ambani: Yes and everybody can have a good day or a bad day and I think it was our bad day.

Shekhar Gupta: I think Dhoni did acknowledge it to you.

Nita Ambani: I didn’t watch the television interview but yes,he did. And I think Dhoni is a person who has gone through so much as a captain,so he really knows. With Sachin and Harbhajan and Zaheer leading our youngsters and mentoring them,it has been a journey that I have enjoyed so far.

Shekhar Gupta: You said you really learnt a lot from them.

Nita Ambani: Yes. I think sports is the greatest unifier and leveller. You look at the humility that Sachin has,in spite of achieving so much,and how dedicated he is to this game. Every time I would talk to the team before we went on the field,all I would say was give it your best and enjoy yourself and cherish every moment on the field because that’s what Sachin does. At 37,he has the energy of a 20-year-old. It’s amazing. He would be practising at the nets for three hours in the morning.

Shekhar Gupta: I believe you really wanted to win this one.

Nita Ambani: Yes,I wanted to. We all wanted to. But then,you may want some things but you have to be happy that you have achieved so much. We were the table toppers all through.

Shekhar Gupta: You have some very young people in your team.

Nita Ambani: Yes. There are amazing stories to tell about each one of them. Saurabh Tiwary comes from Jharkhand and they call him the left-handed Dhoni–he is a hard-hitter. When we celebrated Sachin’s birthday one day before the finals,everyone had something to say to Sachin. So,Saurabh goes up and says: “Paaji,main aapke liye kya bolun? Aapne jitney saal cricket ko diyein hain,I’m not even that old. I am only 20 years old.” I thought that was heartwarming. Then we have Aditya Thare who is a fisherman’s son from Palghar. He is a wicket-keeper and he played for Mumbai Indians against Rajasthan Royals. He took 23 runs out of those 13 balls. His father used to ferry him to Bombay in a boat so that he could learn cricket. And Aditya is so confident. He is a wordsmith–he weaves poetry with words,in English. He writes beautifully. And he is just 20.

Shekhar Gupta: What about the fast bowler Pawan Suyal?

Nita Ambani: Pawan is from Uttaranchal. He is 20 too. And he clocked 140 km when he played against Chennai. We lost that match. I think these are very promising youngsters we have brought into the team. We also have people like Ambati Rayudu who played for ICL.

Shekhar Gupta: He was lost completely.

Nita Ambani: Yes,he was completely lost and he is one of the most promising cricketers of the future and we brought him back and look at him now. He is doing so well in wicket-keeping and batting so well under pressure.

Shekhar Gupta: He was lost completely.

Nita Ambani: Yes. And he is one of the most promising cricketers of the future and we brought him back and look at him now. He is doing so well in wicket-keeping and he is batting so well under pressure.

Shekhar Gupta: Where do you find these unknown youngsters?

Nita Ambani: I travelled to Baroda,I travelled to Chandigarh,I watched all these little domestic matches in the last eight or nine months and I have enjoyed it scouting for talent this way. Aditya Thare plays for the Mumbai Ranji team,Pawan plays for the Delhi Ranji team. I picked them up,we had trials.

Shekhar Gupta: Who were you consulting?

Nita Ambani: We had a core team of Sachin,Bhajji,Zaheer,T.A. Sekhar and Robin. We took the decisions together. We watched them live. I travelled with them.

Shekhar Gupta: You have almost two generations of cricketers in your team. Even the older ones,on the field,are like boys. How do they deal with you? Are they in awe of you?

Nita Ambani: No. I’m one of the team mates now. Initially,when I went to South Africa,when we were losing last year,they used to stand up when I walked into the room. Now,I think,they think I’m one of them. They tell me things and respect my opinion. So,I think we are a very close unit and a happy unit. Irrespective of whether we win or lose,we gather in the dressing room after a match. It is very important to have a positive atmosphere. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard can bring the dressing room down with laughter.

Shekhar Gupta: And the galleries…

Nita Ambani: Pollard can start hitting sixes and bring down the galleries. And we would do a little celebration and they used to go ‘Master,master’ for Sachin. And all of them would put their hands up for me and go ‘Bhabhi,bhabhi’.

Shekhar Gupta: Is that what you are called?

Nita Ambani: I’m called ‘Bhabhi’. But Bravo has another take on this. We had this celebration before we played the semis,and everybody had to give a little speech. So,Bravo says,“I thank Master,and I thank Mrs Boss for all the opportunities that she has given us and the trust she has in us. And I have to thank Mrs Boss’s husband.” I don’t think Mukesh has ever been called that: Mrs Boss’s husband! The whole team was in splits. They didn’t know how Mukesh would react to that. But he was thrilled.

Shekhar Gupta: I would also like to hear about the speech Bhajji would have made.

Nita Ambani: Well,Bhajji being Bhajji,when we entered the semi-finals,he carried me in the spur of the moment. We were euphoric,Bhajji has been a big contributor in the last 10 months.

Shekhar Gupta: That is the image of the IPL this year.

Nita Ambani: And after that in the dressing room,he came in and told me,“Bhabhi,if we win the finals,main aapko aur Sir ko uthakar pure stadium mein ghumne wala hun.” But that is Bhajji,I think.

Shekhar Gupta: Another interesting thing you did with your team was the name you chose–Mumbai Indians. It is such a genuine Mumbaikar thing to do because what you have done is you have built support for your team in many other parts of the country,which may not have their own teams.

Nita Ambani: I must credit this to Mukesh,really. When we won the bid for this IPL team,I was not a very great cricket enthusiast. I really didn’t know too much of cricket except that I could differentiate between a four and a six. I didn’t even know what an LBW was,frankly. And when Mukesh won the bid,he sat down with me and the kids and said,I think we should name it Mumbai Indians. He explained how it represents Mumbai and also represents the whole of India. At that time,we got a lot of criticism for it–people said it was not a very imaginative name compared to the other teams. We just had a very simple name.

Shekhar Gupta: You also got hit by some political criticism.

Nita Ambani: Yes,we did. But I think now,because we felt the right thing,did the right thing,it is a name that has stayed on. I think what it generated at that time was a lot of passion,whether negative or positive. Sachin was very clear that he loved the name. Mukesh was very clear that he liked the name. I got support from my children saying: “Hey mom,go for it. It’s a good name.” And I think that’s what mattered.

Shekhar Gupta: You were never worried about this?

Nita Ambani: No,we were worried only about cricket at that time.

Shekhar Gupta: Going back to the biddings of the IPL,how do you feel about the fact that nobody bid for the Pakistanis?

Nita Ambani: I’m not quite too sure about what happened to the Pakistanis. I remember that I had met Dwayne Bravo before the bidding and I had dinner with him in London just after the World Cup last year,and he told me (he calls me Nita,he doesn’t call me Bhabi) that there is one player I want you to go for,and that is Pollard. I had then watched him play and followed him and we went it. And we wanted J.P. Duminy. So,I think we were very decided on this that these were the two players whom we wanted anyway. None of the Pakistani players were actually needed in our team at that time. I think the game should be open for everyone. Cricket is a great unifier and the greatest binder.

Shekhar Gupta: It created a lot of negative buzz in Pakistan and also amongst many of us in India. How can someone bid for Damien Martin but not for Shahid Afridi?

Nita Ambani: I guess these are the larger questions that need to be answered. For my team,I knew what I was going for and as I said,if cricket is a great unifier,let it be a game. In my classroom at the school,when two children compete against each other,they can also be best friends in the classroom. But on the field,when they are competing,I tell them to give their best.

Shekhar Gupta: Your school was the first dream you set out to realise. I believe you also have children of several cricketers playing in your school.

Nita Ambani: Yes. I have Sachin’s Arjun. And I have a little story to tell. I went to South Africa,not knowing too much about cricket,and Arjun was sitting next to me and trying to explain the game to me—this was the game against Kolkata Knight Riders. He was just eight years old. He knows cricket pretty well. It runs in his blood. He said,“Dada is going to bowl to baba.” I had no idea who dada or baba was. He explained,“Dada is Sourav Ganguly and baba is my father. My father is going to hit a cover drive. Just watch.” And that’s what Sachin did.

Shekhar Gupta: Arjun,too,plays cricket seriously.

Nita Ambani: He does. His insight into cricket for a young child is tremendous and he plays for three and a half hours every day. But Sachin had said clearly that he didn’t want to push him into the game.

Shekhar Gupta: Does he like to play like Sachin?

Nita Ambani: He tries to lift and loft and Sachin says,stay on the ground,and he hates it.

Shekhar Gupta: You have been part of the IPL from the second edition onwards. How do you see it evolving and where do you see it going?

Nita Ambani: I think it’s a great property. Look at the chance the youngsters are getting to display their talent. It can only go further but I think there should be right systems and processes in place. I personally think that what it has achieved in the last three years to become one of the foremost leagues not only in the country but also in the world is something amazing. And India has done this. We need to be proud. You have someone like Saurabh Tiwary playing with Sachin Tendulkar,which he couldn’t have even dreamt of in his life.

Shekhar Gupta: Do you worry about it a little bit? About the controversies.

Nita Ambani: I got into it because of the pure love of cricket. And I still think that it is cricket that will survive in IPL. And that is the way it should be.

Shekhar Gupta: And cheerleaders can come and go?

Nita Ambani: I don’t care much.

Shekhar Gupta: But do you worry now? The brand has got tainted.

Nita Ambani: I think,everything that is good goes on. And I think IPL is a great property. It will go on. It will get bigger and it will get better.

Shekhar Gupta: You have been through an auction. Did you see anything that’s being talked about? Fixed auctions… Did you find the auctions to be professional?

Nita Ambani: I found the auctions to be very well-conducted. In IPL 2,when we went to Goa,they were so well-conducted and very professional. And I came back home telling Mukesh,full of appreciation,that these auctions were really well-conducted.

Shekhar Gupta: So,you think,there could be some exaggeration to the stories that came out?

Nita Ambani: Everything good,bad,coming out of IPL–we should just stick to saying that cricket is like a religion in India. It is the only secular religion in India,cuts across all other religions. In fact,at the dressing room,you must once experience it because we have boys from every nation and every religion. But nobody talks about that. We only talk cricket,passionately. We talk about every ball that was bowled,how did they hit it,what happened. And I think that is what cricket is all about.

Shekhar Gupta: And you never get the sense that anything was fixed?

Nita Ambani: I don’t think so. Maybe I have just come into it late. I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I am too much of a cricket enthusiast. And I think positively.

Shekhar Gupta: But there is loose talk about cricket. It doesn’t do cricket much good.

Nita Ambani: It has always been there. It’s not as if it has started now. There has been such talk in the past also. But cricket has survived. And it should survive.

Shekhar Gupta: Give us some views about Lalit Modi.

Nita Ambani: What amazes me about Lalit is this constant energy that he had. I would be thinking about my travelling schedule from Bombay to Mohali and then from Mohali to Chennai,and wondering which side of the bed should I get up in the morning. And Lalit would be travelling to every place,constantly on the move and constantly wanting to have something done. I used to wonder,how on earth is he doing this?

Shekhar Gupta: But does that invite too much attention?

Nita Ambani: Well,all cricket invites attention.

Shekhar Gupta: Could he have handled it differently?

Nita Ambani: Everybody has their own personalities,and in retrospect,many people may say this or that,but I think everybody’s personality is different and who am I to enforce any personality on anybody else? But I must say that I have enjoyed my two years thoroughly with IPL.

Shekhar Gupta: Did you ever have any argument with him over something?

Nita Ambani: No. I was just a little disappointed that I was not allowed to sit in the dug-out with my team. It came after two weeks and I’m too much of a team member to be separated from them.

Shekhar Gupta: And what did he say?

Nita Ambani: He said it was the corruption rules.

Shekhar Gupta: Can IPL survive his departure?

Nita Ambani: You know what I tell my school all the time? It should be beyond me. It is a timeless institution.

Shekhar Gupta: Has IPL become that?

Nita Ambani: Time will tell. I think Lalit did tremendously for IPL but it should continue. Anything good should continue.

Shekhar Gupta: Do you feel sorry for him?

Nita Ambani: Yes,I do.

Shekhar Gupta: Why?

Nita Ambani: He has brought IPL and made it one of the most watched leagues in the world and I think you need to give him credit for that.

Shekhar Gupta: It needed a certain entrepreneurial energy. It has risen in size,in dimension,in popularity. Infact,I described him as India’s Jerry Maguire,and Hugh Hefner. I think,the Hefner side became a problem.

Nita Ambani: But each to their own. As I said,IPL will go on.

Shekhar Gupta: Tell us about your educational initiative. I know that’s a big one.

Nita Ambani: I started my career as a school teacher years ago after I got married.

Shekhar Gupta: If I read correctly,for Rs 800 per month as a school teacher.

Nita Ambani: As a Rs 800 school teacher. I applied for this job,came back and told Mukesh that I’ve applied and I have been asked for an interview and I think I’ll go through. I was very nervous at that time. I was a young bride of 21 and married to this large family. Everybody knew Dhirubhai Ambani and Mukesh Ambani,and I wondered how Mukesh would react to my working as a teacher for Rs 800 a month. Everybody as in Anil,papa,mummy,Deepti and Tina,all of us. It was an extended family.

Shekhar Gupta: It had already become almost the first family of Indian business by then.

Nita Ambani: Yes. And there was also the extended family. The Meswanis and the other eldest kaka. I was the first daughter-in-law of the family. I said I want to work and I must say that I was touched by Mukesh’s progressive attitude. He said,“Of course you must do this. And I’m going to talk to papa about this. You must work if that’s what your heart wants to do.” And I think that is one of my life-changing moments where from the first year of my marriage I was working as an ordinary person.

Shekhar Gupta: Tell us about the university you are building.

Nita Ambani: After the school,I always dreamt of doing a university which would bring liberal arts to India. We have many universities and colleges that would get engineers,management and now law too. But what about economists,what about schools of journalism? And also,I think Indian culture is dying. If I can revive this… We had the greatest universities,like Nalanda,and if I can bring back these things… I am an Indian dancer and I feel sad that an art which has been practised for so many years is now dying. Like Bharatanatyam,you don’t have many takers for that art form. So,if I can get Indian culture within this university where someone can study economics and also be a dancer.

Shekhar Gupta: I believe it’s going to be a mega-project,a very big one.

Nita Ambani: Yes. We are looking at 300 acres near Mumbai and I’m very excited about this.

Shekhar Gupta: That’s the new baby,now?

Nita Ambani: No,the hospital is the new baby. December 2011,I think my hospital will be ready. It’s a 600-bed multi-speciality hospital.

Shekhar Gupta: You know,we talked about the Dhirubhai way,we talked about your coming into the household as the first daughter-in-law,and I acknowledge the fact that corporate issues are corporate issues,but at home,how have they affected you? The family split,the controversies… How have you handled it?

Nita Ambani: Well,you are a human being and you have to,kind of,be affected. You have to emote. Emotions are a part of a human being. But at times in life,you can’t control everything. And it is important how you deal with it and how you go on with life and how you deal with ups and downs in your life and not become bitter. I have not become a bitter person.

Shekhar Gupta: But you do regret the fact that this happened?

Nita Ambani: Well,at this moment of my life,I think I have moved ahead. I don’t even think about it.

Shekhar Gupta: I attended a business awards function. I think it was the Businessman of the Year function and the award was given to Mukesh and Anil jointly. I forget who the chief guest was. It was many years ago. And he said that the amazing thing is that you can start a conversation with one brother and continue seamlessly with the other the next morning. So from that to this…

Nita Ambani: As I said,you are human beings. You can’t take away feelings from human beings. But if life has decided to take a certain turn,you take it in your stride. You don’t become bitter about it. You sometimes wish it away but it cannot.

Shekhar Gupta: And you have to take sides because there are sides.

Nita Ambani: I was very traumatised at that time but I think I have moved on.

Shekhar Gupta: Whatever has led to the current situation,you have given us a great school,a great team,arguably the best team in this tournament,and Jamnagar and now we have the hospital and then the university coming up.

Nita Ambani: The ecological change in Jamnagar we achieved 15 years ago–my father-in-law was the driving force behind that. He said,you must have a mango orchard that would be the largest in Asia. I credit everything I did there to papa and his vision.

Shekhar Gupta: I think a lot of people want to know what you have done to yourself. Your diet,your exercise… You are a whiff of yourself. It’s amazing.

Nita Ambani: It feels good to hear that. After my twins were born,and after my little one was born,from 47 kilos when I got married,I went up to 90 kilos. And I didn’t care too much. I was so busy setting up the school,setting up Jamnagar,doing different things for Mukesh and then three years ago realisation struck. I have my youngest son who is fighting obesity and I can be very honest with that. And I thought the only way he will lose weight is if I do it with him. So we went on this diet and we went for exercise regimes where mother and son did everything together.

Shekhar Gupta: You are a Gujarati. You can’t throw away your dhoklas,khandvi.

Nita Ambani: Well,I have thrown away dhokla,khandvi,theplas,khakhras.

Shekhar Gupta: But what you have done is quite remarkable. And I think one of the people who should be grateful is Harbhajan Singh because if he has to lift you year after year,he would rather have this weight.

Nita Ambani: I hope we have that many victories.

Shekhar Gupta: So congratulations again. And you are a fine brand ambassador,not just for Mumbai Indians but for Indian cricket,I would say,and the Indian corporate world.

Nita Ambani: I’ve enjoyed everything that I have done and given it my best. Whether it was setting up the school or setting up the hospital or getting involved in cricket,it has enriched my life and I have memories that I’ll cherish for a lifetime.

Shekhar Gupta: Thank you very much and wishing you more great memories,more victories and great cricket.

Nita Ambani: Thank you.