NEW DELHI: Dino Morea, actor, model and film producer, talked to NewsX for its special segment, India A-List. Dino also turned an entrepreneur with investments in multiple business ventures.
On how the entrepreneurial ideas kicked in, Dino said, “I’ve always been extremely ambitious ever since I can remember; I always wanted to do many things. Technology has always fascinated me. Ever since I started acting, and meeting so many people from different fields of life, I met a lot of entrepreneurs who were looking for investments and starting businesses.”
“This got me excited. So I started reading several new business ventures that were being started all over the world and some of the technology that was being created, new ideas that were launched were so fascinating. Being ambitious just makes you want to know more and curiosity always spiking as to how does this happen? I read a lot of pitches as I had done a couple of movies by then and I saved some money. So it would be apt to put some aside in certain investments or ideas which I thought would be good in the future.”
Dino has been quite futuristic in his outlook and had started talking about outdoor gyms and fitness well ahead of its time before it even emerged as a trend. “The fitness idea came about organically. I went for a jog where I live in Bandra and found out that there’s nothing else to do besides jogging. There was no facility as such, anywhere in Mumbai, or in India. Hence, I thought that what if we create a nice small facility which you can use to train while jogging, or walking,” said the actor.
“We all do a lot of body resistance workouts, therefore, I came up with the idea and designed something which I thought was pretty interesting where you can accomplish a lot of exercises in a space of 400 square feet. Everyone loved the idea of let’s create a Get Fit Mumbai or Fit Maharashtra sort of initiative,” added Dino. To date, the actor’s initiative has successfully set up about 40-50 odd fitness stations in Mumbai and other parts of India such as Andamans, Gujarat and Jamshedpur.
After acting in films, Dino turned producer with Jism 2 and Helmet will release soon. The actor shared what made him turn into a film producer, “When I was acting in 2010 the offers coming my way were really nothing great to talk about. The film offers I was getting were nothing to take home. I wanted to be a part of the industry still but didn’t want the terrible roles which are not going to do anything for my career.”
“I decided that if I produce, I’ll be part of the film industry, which I really know well now and at the same time, maybe one day, I’ll produce my film for myself, which I would love to act in and that’s how it began. I collaborated with Pooja and Mahesh Bhatt and we made that movie, I was hands-on as a producer and one movie teaches you everything you need to know about production as you’re doing everything, and getting involved in every sort of way. So that movie taught me a lot. It also made me realise how much I miss being in front of the camera,” elaborated Dino about his first production venture.
“I went to Delhi to a popular acting coach, N.K. Sharma to hone my skills and see what I’m missing. I came back and started to push more to continue in the field. And fortunately now with OTT platforms and web series, the opportunities coming my way are fantastic and at the same time, I was always prepared. I’ve always been prepared and ready for an opportunity,” said Dino, confessing his love for acting. The actor received positive reviews for Hostages 2 and Mentalhood earlier this year and is gearing up for a series of new releases.
“I feel I’ve really matured as an actor and now my production house is running pretty smoothly. I want to keep creating content. We’ve got four other projects lined up to go into making. I’m enjoying this time and space. In those four years between 2012 and 2017, I did two businesses as well,” added Dino.
Talking about the lockdown lessons, he said “I loved the lockdown and was fortunate enough to enjoy it. I love the peace, tranquillity, and clean air. There were many realisations during this lockdown, and most of all, we were caught up in this rat race that we forgot to live in the moment. So, I’ve learned to I wouldn’t say slow down as I’m still very ambitious and a huge go-getter but I’m practising enjoying my life a little more. Every minute as I don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow and that was a big learning.” Dino shared his success mantra, “Nothing beats hard work and perseverance. I realised that if you’re enjoying something that you do and you’re having fun doing it money automatically finds its way to you as you’re enjoying it so much that you do it so well. But you have to wake up every day looking forward to doing that particular thing and opportunities will come.”