Dashing, debonair, confident, successful, a dreamer and a believer, that's what this 28 year old can be summed up as. Sheeraz Hasan, CEO, producer and host of Tinseltown TV which airs on B4U in more than 80 countries has been there done that and is itching for more. His mission - to bring Bollywood and Hollywood in closer contact with each other. He is the first to have worked towards this goal. At 28, this entrepreneur has achieved more in life than most do in an entire lifetime. He sleeps only three hours a day, parties, socialises, works, works, works and works. Hasan has privileged access to Hollywood's hottest stars like Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones... et al. The list is endless. Through an email questionnaire sent by Indiantelevision.com's Hetal Adesara, this firm believer in God spoke about his passion for work and his claim to fame in a short span of 18 odd months. Excerpts: |
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Tell me something about your background. I didn't want to leave the restaurant until it was established. Once that was accomplished, I could move on to my next goal which was to become the most powerful producer in Hollywood. |
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What is Tinseltown TV? In addition to its encompassing coverage of the entertainment industry, Tinseltown TV is the only show in the world to have an exclusive segment featuring in-depth interviews with Hollywood's A-list stars discussing their spirituality. The Spiritual Side of Hollywood offers a rare glimpse of celebrities discussing God and enlightenment. Hosted by Zarina Ramzan, top stars speak candidly about their faith and how they stay grounded. How did you start as a producer? What went behind setting up Tinseltown TV? Arriving in Los Angeles, I decided to surround myself with the movers and shakers in the business. To do this, I moved into an office complex called Lantana in Santa Monica. Here I was in the same office as Spielberg, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Tucker, Catherine Zeta Jones, Harrison Ford and many more industry executives.
Was it difficult to carve a niche for yourself in Hollywood? What kind of problems did you face, if any? After going to an average of three to four Hollywood parties and events every night for the last year, I have succeeded in raising awareness of Bollywood and now I'm 'carrying the flag' of India and Bollywood. We are the only company in the world bringing Hollywood to the global Indian community. What kind of a rapport do you have with the big names in Hollywood who are shown on your show?
How easy or difficult is it to get access to Hollywood hot-shots like Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Sharon Stone, Harrison Ford and the likes? I am socialising and partying every night and when Hollywood sees someone with such passion, talking to stars about spirituality and other meaningful subjects, I am given unrivalled access. It's only because of this that no other network or show has footage like ours.
Tinseltown Live is being aired in countries like the US, UK, Europe, Pakistan, Canada, Mauritius, South Africa and Australia. What is the response you have got from these countries?
On what basis did you choose B4U to air your show?
As a producer, what are the subjects that appeal to you?
Is there any kind of channel intervention?
As a producer, what difficulties do you encounter?
What is your production set up like?
What are your sources of funding? Tinseltown also airs and licenses its show to the Iranian community where it is seen in 90 million homes. Our website www.tinseltown.tv also generates advertising revenue.
Which areas are you personally involved with as producer? I continue setting my goals every week. I have been able to achieve more in 18 months than most people achieve in a lifetime. This is only due to my passion, focus, determination and sleeping three hours a night! Our mission statement is simple: Inspiration and Enlightenment through the art of Television and Cinema. I motivate my team to believe that 'Tinseltown will lead, not follow. We will believe, not doubt. We will create, not destroy, we will set new standards and we will defy the odds.' One piece of advice that has stayed with me since arriving in the US: Michael Eisner told me, "Sheeraz, if you want to make it in Hollywood, sleep when you're dead." I live by that philosophy every day.
You're going to host Partnership Walk 2003 in LA which is an event to promote greater understanding about the lives of the poor people in developing countries. How did it come about and what is your personal involvement in it?
Which are the projects that you have in the pipeline? Which would you consider to be the high points of your career? Having the number one show on B4U Worldwide is also one of the highlights of my career. Then, hosting the 2003 Partnership Walk in LA, winning an award at Partnership Walk for 'Outstanding Achievement by a South-Asian' and receiving an invitation to host the New Year's Eve party of King Fahad due to the popularity of the show in the Middle East are definitely something that I'm proud of.
What are your future plans? Our website, which already has four million hits a month, will be developed further and will become a platform to reach billions of people around the world via the web. We are also developing movie scripts for production next year and we plan to have our own studio within the next few years. |
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