BookMyShow founder and CEO Ashish Hemrajani took a trip down memory lane during a recent podcast appearance as he related an interesting anecdote behind BookMyShow’s launch in 1999. “When people ask me how did BookMyShow happen, I say ‘smoking and drinking’,” he said with a chuckle during an appearance on The Rockford Circle podcast hosted by Chitrangda Singh.
This intriguing statement has an unexpected backstory rooted in a backpacking trip to South Africa, where a chance moment under a tree and a hazy wine-tasting afternoon would eventually spark the idea that became BookMyShow.
How BookMyShow began with smoking and drinking
Ashish Hemrajani, 51, revealed that in the late 1990s, he and two of his friends went on a trip to South Africa. Hemrajani was working in advertising at the time, but wanted a break from work — primarily because he was fed up with the smoking office culture.
“I wrote my MBA paper, but I still wanted to be in the creative world. So I went and joined advertising. I was having a great time… But then it was a smoking office — everybody around you smoked, with the carpet around and air conditioning.
“And that is something that I didn’t really enjoy. So I decided to take a holiday,” said Hemrajani. (Also read: 23-year-old behind $100M Bengaluru startup recalls sleeping on floor 9 months ago)
{{/usCountry}}“And that is something that I didn’t really enjoy. So I decided to take a holiday,” said Hemrajani. (Also read: 23-year-old behind $100M Bengaluru startup recalls sleeping on floor 9 months ago)
{{/usCountry}}And so, a backpacking holiday to South Africa was planned so he could escape the smoking.
The genesis of BookMyShow
Hemrajani revealed that he, his best friend from college, and a third companion took a backpacking trip to South Africa on a shoestring budget of ₹65,000, including ₹20,000 for airfare. They travelled from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, facing mishaps like car accidents, money troubles, and even sleeping on an anthill along the way.
While travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town during the trip, Hemrajani heard a radio commercial trying to sell rugby tickets online.
“We were under a big tree at Storms River Valley when I heard a radio commercial trying to sell rugby tickets online. So even today, the name of the company is Big Tree Entertainment Private Limited… it was like Buddha getting his enlightenment,” he recalled.
Big Tree Entertainment is the parent company of BookMyShow — which is one of India’s most popular platforms for booking movies, theatre, concerts and other entertainment.
So how does the ‘drinking’ factor in?
Ashish Hemrajani went on to reveal how alcohol played a part in BookMyShow’s origin story.
He said that on reaching Cape Town, he and his friends went for a wine tasting. He recalled getting drunk during the wine tasting and waking up in a youth hostel, in a bed that wasn’t his own.
“Everybody at the wine tasting was like sipping and spitting it. I’m like, it’s free stuff. I kept plugging wine,” he remembered. “So I really drank 25 short glasses of wine from 11:00 in the morning to 3:00 in the afternoon. I woke up in a youth hostel on a bunk bed that wasn’t mine and that’s when I decided I’m quitting.”
“So it started with smoking and it ended with drinking,” quipped the founder of BookMyShow. “And so when most people ask me how did BookMyShow happen, I say smoking and drinking.”
BookMyShow is one of India’s largest ticketing platforms. It was established in 1999 by Ashish Hemrajani, Rajesh Balpande, and Parikshit Dar.