Ektaa Kapoor admits 2008 was the worst year of her professional career: ‘I didn’t respect the professionals who came in at that time’

Ektaa Kapoor said that one must be a little more cognizant of the fact that they have to build relationships beyond success.

Ektaa Kapoor has established herself as a name to be reckoned with in Indian entertainment. In a journey that has spanned from TV to films and eventually OTT, she has been everywhere. The year 2025 marks three decades since Ektaa entered the entertainment industry. In a new chat with Ranveer Allahbadia, Ektaa shared that the form was not always great as in 2008 she had the worst year in her professional career.

Ektaa Kapoor recently announced that Lock Upp will be back with season 2.

What Ektaa said

During the interaction, when Ranveer asked what happened in 2008, Ektaa said, “2008 was the worst year for me career-wise. That one year was very strong because nothing was going right for me. That year was really bad for me professionally. Mental health wise it was bad because I was not able to grapple with that. But the COVID time affected me the most mentally. Even though I didn’t give birth to my son, I had postpartum of my own. I was grappling with motherhood. I had never been stuck at home for so long, and I had never seen so much death around me. 2021-2022 was mentally the toughest year for me, and 2008 was the toughest professionally.”

‘Overconfidence is not swag; it’s stupidity’

She went on to detail where she went wrong and how she found a lot of good mentors along the way who helped her. “I had fewer things on paper back in 2008. Never work without having things on paper. Secondly, when you work with companies and you trust in professionals, professionals might leave the job, and then the company will change a professional, and you will be stuck. You have to be a little more cognizant of the fact that you have to build relationships beyond success. I used to believe I was the shiz. I am not the shiz. I can do great work, and I can do bad work. People should want to work with me beyond the good and bad… Overconfidence is not swag; it’s stupidity. You don’t need overconfidence to build momentum. I learnt humility, teamwork, and putting things on paper from that patch. I had some really big mentors on the way. I met Uday Shankar; he taught me so much about work ethic. I met a great number of strong professionals and learned that respect is mutual. Form can always be up and down, but your credibility cannot; your level of ethics cannot. People should not wait for your downfall,” she added.

Some of the iconic Television shows that Ektaa has created include Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, and Pavitra Rishta. She recently produced the reality television series Lock Upp through her production house, Balaji Telefilms. Season 2 was announced a few days ago.