WORK AT PLAY

Sisters Aarti Shetty and Pooja Shetty Deora, who launched India’s answer to Disneyland, on dream projects and cutting their own paths Text by Sonali Kokra

the responsibility of making their father Manmohan Shetty's dream a reality.

Pooja and Aarti's distinct personalities shine through within the first few minutes of our conversation. While Aarti is all about stories and anecdotes about the madness of the months leading up to the park's grand opening in April 2013, Pooja talks business. But despite the obvious differences, both are quick to point out that they're just two members—albeit important ones—in the highly professional team that their father assembled to work on the project. “It would be very wrong to take the credit for Imagica. It's our father's baby through and through. And the whole team worked together relentlessly to make sure we meet deadlines,” says Pooja. Aarti agrees. “It's true. It wasn't like power and control were simply handed over to us. Both of us had to be qualified and better than others who were angling for our jobs. Sometimes, we had to prove ourselves more than the others for dad to agree to our suggestions.”

The roles that Aarti talks about are very clearly defined. Pooja, with her Bachelor's Degree in Science of Management at Purdue University, oversees the marketing and food and beverage business; Aarti, a graduate from the film school of New York University works on the park's design and development of rides and attractions, and was the one with her father when he was dreaming the dream. “Dad and I were on vacation in the US where he started dragging me to all these consultants' offices for meetings he'd set up without even telling me. We thought he was retiring from the entertainment business and wanted to enjoy his life now. Instead he was laying the groundwork for his most challenging project yet!” When I ask the girls what their initial reaction to the idea was, they respond instantly. “We thought dad had gone crazy.