Zarina Screwvala is an Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is a co-trustee of the Swazi Foundation, which aims to lift one million people out of poverty in India.
Wiki/Biography
Zarina Screwvala was born Zarina Mehta in 1961 in Washington, D.C. (age 61; as of 2022) and moved to India with her family when she was 8 years old. She attended JB Petit School for Girls in Mumbai. She graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai with a BA in Economics. To earn her master’s degree, Zarina went to Xavier School of Communication, where she earned a degree in marketing and advertising.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′4″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Zarina Screwvala belongs to a Parsi family.
Parents and siblings
Her father, Brigadier General Fordhun Siawaks Bairamji “Duck” Mehta, was the first Indian Army Aviation pilot and the first Commander of the 9th Indian Parachute Field Regiment. Her mother, Villie Mehta, is a businesswoman who runs her own catering business.
Zarina Screwvala (second from upper right) and her family
husband and children
Zarina Mehta is married to savvy entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala. Zarina’s husband has a daughter Trishya Screwvala with his first wife Manjula Nanavati.
Zarina Mehta (right) walks the ramp at the Swades Foundation Show with husband Ronnie and daughter Trishya Screwvala
religion
Zarina Screwvala belongs to the Parsi community and follows Zoroastrianism.
address
Breach Candy, South Mumbai, Maharashtra
Profession
Zarina is an independent woman who started tutoring children in English after completing her studies. She sought a job from Pearl Padamsee, with whom she had acted in plays in college. She then secured a position as production manager of a drama.
entrepreneur
UTV
Zarina co-founded UTV in 1990 with her husband Ronnie Screwvala and Deven Khote. It is India’s first independent production company. It even produced the quiz show Mashoor Mahal for national television Doordarshan, for which Zarina was the associate director. UTV subsequently diversified into a leading film studio, gaming studio and creative content company. The company was listed on the stock exchange in 2005. In 2008, The Walt Disney Company acquired a 15% stake in UTV Global Broadcasting Company for Rs 118.98 crore, becoming India’s largest foreign investment, and later acquired a stake of Rs 32.1 Cr. 50% of parent company UTV Software Communications Ltd Rs. 805.05 Crores.
Content Creator, UTV
UTV produces different content for different age groups. They produced the country’s first reality show ‘Saanp-Seedi’ and the first daily soap opera ‘Shanti’.
hungama tv
UTV has created a channel for children, Hungama TV. Zarina managed the channel by becoming its “Head of Programming” and later its Chief Operating Officer. She has produced successful children’s shows like ‘Hero – Bhakti Hi Shakti Hai’ and ‘Sanya’. The channel also showcases popular cartoons such as “Doraemon” and “Xiaoxin”. Zarina executed various campaigns like “John Aur Kaun” and “Hungama TV Captain’s Hunt” which made the channel very popular among children. In 2006, it was sold to the Walt Disney Company for approximately $30.5 million.
UTV bindings
Zarina curates a channel specifically for teenagers, which is an unexplored territory. UTV Bindass has launched shows targeting young audiences such as ‘Emotional Atyachar’, ‘Yeh Hai Aashiqui’, ‘Love by Chance’, ‘Sun Yaar Chill Maar’ and ‘Pyar Ka The End’. A clear vision and direction makes it easier for UTV Bindass to become the number one channel in the youth sector.
philanthropist
After 27 years of devoting all her passion and enthusiasm to UTV, Zarina decided to shift her focus from there and work full-time on her SHARE Foundation (Society for Healing, Aid, Recovery and Education) as Managing Trustee. She sent an internal email to UTV company employees saying goodbye to UTV.
swartz foundation
In 1983, Zarina Mehta and Ronnie Screwvala launched the SHARE (Society for Healing Aid Restoration Education) Foundation, which transformed into Swayze in 2013 foundation. The foundation’s goal is to help one million people escape poverty through education and donations. Give them proper training. The foundation focuses on four key areas, namely health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, and economic development. Since 2013, Swades Foundation has reached 2700 hamlets/villages in Raigad and Nashik districts of Maharashtra. The foundation adheres to its 4E strategy: Engage, Empower, Execute and Exit.
Facts/Trivia
- She has a pet dog named Sprite, a golden Labrador retriever.
Zarina Screwvala and her dog Sprite
- Zarina climbed a cherry tree as a child. She said the tree was very dear to her and she used to love climbing on it and swinging on it.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education