Entertainment
Reena Wadhwa opens up on the science of multitasking and keeping the yin and yang synchronised
Updated : Feb 01, 2015, 06:10 AM IST
At the outset, it's easy to write her off as another label-dripping, party-hopping socialista but she comes across as anything but that. Chatty and warm - she breaks the ice immediately putting you at ease.
She attends soirees only when it's required, prefers entertaining a close group of friends at home and is busy multitasking - running RW Media (a company with significant interest in the Indian media and luxury space), being a mother to two children and wife to investment honcho Ashok Wadhwa.
Known for her partnership with Gucci (purchased a 49 per cent stake in Gucci's India franchise in 2009), there's much more to Reena Wadhwa than the luxe brand she represents. After a memorable stint on TV as an actress (starring in shows like Ye Jo Hai Zondagi and Kahin Diyaa Jale Kahin Jiyaa), she took a break from the rough-and-tumble of the entertainment world and focused on her kids and married life. She's now back with her company, which along with Callista Capital, (a Singapore-based family private-equity firm), purchased a 49.9 per cent stake in an independent studio Abundantia Entertainment.
I ask her about the recent change of guard at Gucci (Alessandro Michele replaced Frida Giannini as the creative director this month) and she says that a change is always good and brings something new to the brand.
However, it's the conversation revolving around motherhood and her kids that actually brings a smile to her face. Over to the lady...
Tight-as-a-bandage schedule
The taxing commute from her the rarefied Cuffe Parade house to her office in the suburbs is a daily thing. However, the disciplined and organised entrepreneur handles it pretty well thanks to her daily workout which takes precedence over everything else. "I need to start my day with a good workout between 8 and 9 in the morning. And then my day moves towards either going to Lokhandwala, where I am an investor in a film company or it is sometimes a little responsibility related to Gucci or helping my husband with putting together social events. If it's Lokhandwala, it ends rather late 9-9.30 pm but otherwise I am back home at 6 in the evening."
Partnership with Gucci
Representing the brand at social events all the time, does she feel a pressure to look a certain way?
"Firstly, I don't believe I am the face of Gucci, I am a partner of Gucci in India but I must be honest, initially into this partnership, I did feel the pressure of being seen in the brand all the time. Today I have learnt to divide that time – yes, for social events I do wear the brand and I enjoy it but in my personal time and space, I could be wearing anything."
Why Gucci?
It's surprising when Reena admits that she had no connect to the fashion industry before the brand partnership. "In fact, I hardly ever wore luxury brands so the partnership with this brand is whole different story in itself. It happened unexpectedly because of the earlier franchises and their relationship with Ashok my husband, who's an investment banker. This partnership came into my life unexpected and unworked for. There on, once I was a partner, I started developing interest, enjoying the brand, learning about the brand so today it is part of my life. It's a very positive and wonderful experience."
New investments
"RW Media has invested into a film company – Abundantia and the subsidiary of that is Crouching Tiger as well so I have a significance investment in both. I have a partner – Vikram Malhotra, he's the CEO of the company. He looks into the day-to-day activities and running of the company. Our first big project release was Baby, which released last week,"
TV then and now
She was active on the TV scene 10 years ago and one can't help but ask about her observation about the drastic transition which the entertainment scene has seen. "Back then, there were finite series and strong women being portrayed. Over the years, I think, it's kind of, if I may use a strong word, turned - 'regressive'. Women were depicted as vulnerable and we spoke about kitchen politics and so life just revolved around kitchen and mother-in-law and a lot of negativity. Today I think there's a slight shift into finite series. There are some interesting drama soaps as well. I have to be honest, I haven't kept too much in touch with television but when I switch it on once in a while, I do see stronger working women back again on the scene. Now there are working women and stories revolve around outside homes," she says.
Chaotic working hours
She recalls her tumultuous TV days. "The shoots were chaotic, we received our scripts just before the shoots, every day decided the fate of the character and the role the next day and it continues to be like that from what I hear. TV continues to be extremely gruelling – very long hours of shoot and if you take on these shows where you have to go out, stay on the sets then you are working 48 hours out of 24. So it's as bad even now. The work ethics hasn't changed at all," she observes.
However, it wasn't a challenge for her in that era. "Then I had loads of energy, positivity and desire to be on TV. Today, I think if I was to do TV, I would be choosy about it – being a finite series, about my character being something I relate to. Today the criterion of wanting to do TV has changed."
Comeback
Reena does want to come back into films and she is looking at working into film projects. "I have only recently decided to get back. I have the desire to work in roles that are exciting and which have a certain strong relevance to the story line. I look forward to working in films," she shares.
Is there a dream role she wants to essay? "This question should have been asked to me years ago if I had done a lot of film. Because I haven't done a lot of work so I am waiting to get some good work. Honestly, I don't have a dream role in mind."
Mom on the go
"Kids have grown up – 23 and 21. They are both pursuing their careers and they are both very sorted as far as their professions, life choices and space is concerned. But I think they both continue to need my time and when they are here. My son's in Tokyo and my daughter's graduating in May this year. Every time they both are back, I put in a lot of effort in prioritising my time with them, I juggle my work around, schedules around to be with them as much as possible because I enjoy spending time with them. They enjoy being with me," she says.
When Reena was active on TV, the kids actively watched her. "They knew what mom was doing because mom was spending too many hours out of home. Today they both are reasonably occupied. They are aware of what I am doing but they are not actively involved in anyway in day-to-day discussions. I think our interaction is more related to their personal lives, their work - so it's wholesome."
A disciplinarian mama
"My husband is fun and cool. If you ask the kids, I am not a fun or a cool mom. I lead a very disciplined life so I set that example in front of them so I guess, while I intend to be 'fun and cool'. Having said that, we do have a lot of fun chats. It's a very open, conversational relationship we share."
Challenges faced while raising kids
"I don't think my parents must have spent the kind of time and emotional energy that I spent in raising them. I wouldn't say sacrifices but by choices, the decisions I had to make by choice to bring them up in a healthy fashion. The explosion of social media is huge and unhealthy to an extent. I see the basic relationships suffering through this explosion. I see my children and I try and inculcate habits in them that are genuine and honest and away from the pressures of media and the world today. I think it's a challenge today to bring up children. There's no way out to just spending time with them. There's no other substitute to that."
Motherhood
"I think motherhood has contributed to a very large extent in moulding my personality. Twenty years ago, as a person I was highly emotional, very impulsive. Today when I see myself, I'm just the opposite. Motherhood and the challenges of motherhood have played a very large factor in who I am today."
Ashok and I
"Ashok and I share a very healthy relationship in the sense that we do give each other space but at the same time I think back at home, we share every minute of our day with each other. There are healthy rules like - on breakfast table and the little times that we spent together, mobiles are shut, every Sunday there's time out for just the two of us. Very rarely do we accept any social commitments on a Sunday because we just feel that's our sacred time together. It's an open book for both us."
Is age just a number?
"Not really. It's not just a number. It's important to realise the healthy limitations age brings about and I believe it does. But beyond that, if you are leading a disciplined life, your mental and emotional health should permit you to have no boundaries as far as you dreams and ambitions are concerned."
Personal style
"Most of the time I am very classic in my dressing but my personal style also depends on my mood, how I am feeling that day and but I think basically I enjoy feeling comfortable in what I wear. That's a very important factor in fashion and style. If you are not comfortable and you are constantly pulling your dress down and you are trying to dress who you are not, that itself is a fashion faux pas. I don't look at anyone as a style icon, I decide my own style. I decide my own space I want to be in."
Luxe evolution in India
"I have been a partner with the brand for the last six years now. In the last six years, I haven't really seen a sharp shift in luxury buyers. I think it still continues to be a large number of aspirational buyers and that segment continues to dominate the industry. The shift of the industry from aspirational to seasoned luxury buyers still hasn't happened. It's still going to take another five years. The luxury industry is growing slowly and a change will be visible in the near future.
Recession did have a strong role to play in this."
Luxury to me means…
"Luxury is relative to me. It is being able to sit in a spa whole day. Luxury is being able to switch off my mobile and just blank out. To me it is all about having the flexibility of time."
Schmoozing
"I think it's more out of compulsion. I am seen at large events because I am just required to be there. I prefer smaller more personal events and that's the space I'd like to be in and when I am able to interact with more people. I like to entertain smaller groups of people when I am able to have more meaningful conversation. Larger events are more of a chore for me than anything else."
Flirtation with classical music
Of late, she is learning classical singing. "I do that twice a week. I was always a bathroom singer but I think I have a decent voice so just one fine day, I decided to start training. I am loving it. I have a teacher who teaches me actual riyaaz. I like old Hindi songs but I am not talking about just learning to sing a song but I am actually talking about an hour of riyaaz before I get into singing," she shares.