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Jayantilal Gada Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

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Religion: Hinduism
Hometown: Lakadia
Age: 61 Years

Jayantilal Gada

Bio/Wiki
Full nameJayantilal Vershi Gada
Profession(s)• Film producer
• Film Distributor
Famous for Being the founder of Pen Studios, an Indian film production and distribution company.
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 168 cm
in meters- 1.68 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 6”
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourBlack
Career
Awards & Honours2018: Conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by the Academy Of Universal Global Peace (AUGP)
Dr. Jyantilal Gada receiving an honorary doctorate degree in 2018
2013: Awarded the Dhirubhai Ambani Memorial Award at the 13th Annual Transmedia Screen & Stage Awards
Jayantilal Gada after receiving an award at the Gujarati Screen and stage Awards 2013
Personal Life
Date of Birth31 March 1962 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2023)61 Years
BirthplaceLakadia, Gujarat, India
Zodiac signAries
NationalityIndian
HometownLakadia
ReligionHinduism
Controversies • Lawsuit filed by V. Ravichandran
Producer Aascar V. Ravichandran filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Jayantilal Gada and director S. Shankar for the Hindi remake of his Tamil film Anniyan. Ravichandran brought up the matter with the SIFCC, the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, and claimed that he owned the copyright of the film and that no one else could have the rights over it. He also said that the film cannot be re-made without his permission. [1]Firstpost In an interview, while talking about going to court with the intent to sue Gada and Shankar, Ravichandran  said,

"I am utterly shocked to know that you are likely to undertake the direction of a Hindi film by adopting the story of the movie, Anniyan. You are well aware of the fact that I am the producer of the said movie Anniyan. The entire story rights were purchased by me from the writer Sujatha (alias late Rangarajan) for which full payment was done by me to him and necessary records are also available. I am the whole and sole owner of the rights to the storyline. As such, any such adaptation or remaking or copying of the main plot of the said movie, without my permission, is illegal.”

• Lawsuit filed by Gangubai Kathiawadi's adopted son
In April 2021, Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Jayantilal Gada, and writer Hussain Zaidi were summoned by the Mumbai High Court after Gangubai Kathiawada’s adopted son, Babuji Rawji Shah, filed a criminal case complaint against the makers of the film. Babuji Rawji Shah claimed that the film Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), based on Gangubai Kothewali, presents facts in a way that defame his mother and were inaccurate. [2]Firstpost [3]The Indian Express In an interview, while talking about the film, Gangubai’s family lawyer Narendra Dubey said,

"The way Gangubai was portrayed is completely wrong and baseless. It is vulgar. You are representing a social activist as a prostitute. Which family would like it? You have made her [Gangubai] a vamp and lady don.”

Further, he talked about the case still being pending in court as the court asked Shah to produce valid proof that he was Gangubai’s son. He said,

"Although we have proved it in court, there is no hearing in this matter now. They have been asking the family if Gangubai was really a prostitute and not a social worker as they had said. The family’s mental state is not good. No one is able to live in peace.”

• Raided on the suspicion of tax fraud
On 19 April 2023, the Income Tax Department's Investigation Wing in Mumbai started its investigations into well-known production studios n the suspicion of tax evasion and financial irregularities. The tax authority reportedly looked into the producer for possible financial fraud and tax cheating. Searches were conducted at Jayantilal Gada's residence and Pen Studios. Vinod Bhanushali was another producer who had both his home and workplace searched. [4]India Today
Relationships & More
Marital StatusMarried
Affairs/GirlfriendsReshmaa Kadakia (head of Pens Studio's Finance & Accounts department)
Jayantilal Gada with Reshmaa Kadakia at Zee Cine Awards 2017
Family
Wife/SpouseHansa Gada
A picture of Hansa Gada with Dhaval Gada
Children Son(s)- 2
• Dhaval Jayantilal Gada (film and TV producer)
A picture of Dhaval Gada
• Aksshay Jayantilal Gada (film and TV producer)
A picture of Aksshay Gada
Daughter- 1
• Bhavita Jayantilal Gada (aka Bhavita Shah) (works in Pen India Limited's animation department)
A picture of Bhavita Jayantilal Gada with her father

Note: Dhaval, Aksshay, and Bhavita are Jayantilal and Hansa Gada's children. Jayantilal Gada has a son with Reshma Kadakia out of wedlock who is pursuing filmmaking.
ParentsFather- Vershi Khetshi Gada {Patel} (passed away in 2013 after getting diagnosed with cancer; grocer)
A picture of Jayantilal Gada's father
Mother- Jivaben Vershi Gada
A picture of Jyantilal Gada with his mother and late father's photograph on wall

Jayantilal Gada

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jayantilal Gada

  • Jayantilal Gada is a well-known Indian film producer and distributor of Indian films who founded Pen India Limited or Popular Entertainment Network Limited (now called Pen Studios), an Indian film production and distribution company, in 1987.Managing Director.
  • Jayantilal was only 21 years old when he got married to Hansa Gada.
  • When his son Aksshay Jayantilal Gada was 19 years old, he became the founder of an entertainment digital portal, Bollywood Times Private Limited. In 2015, Aksshay was appointed to the Board of Directors of Pen India Limited.
  • Reshmaa Kadakia, the head of Pens Studio’s Finance & Accounts department, and Jayantilal Gada were drawn to one another, but because Gada was already married to Hansa, he was unable to marry his new love. The two became acquainted and started referring to one another as “husband and wife.”

    I, being a Hindu, could not have married twice, so while I cannot get married to Reshmaa, she is no less than a wife to me. We have been together for 22 years and have a son.”

  • Gada worked at his father’s Kirana stores for two years after he completed his tenth standard. Later, he opened a video library called Popular Video Cassette Company at his father’s store where he started selling film cassettes for Rs. 10 each but Gada’s father didn’t like it concept of his business. Gada then rented out VCR machines and videocassette recorders (VCR). Additionally, he launched a video-photography business, where he used to record weddings and charge Rs. 10,000 for every event.
  • At the age of 25, Jayantilal Gada gained the copyright to motion pictures from Dhirubhai Shah; however, Gada went bankrupt as a result of some losses incurred by this business.
  • Gada learnt about copyright from Heera Seth of Esquire Video Film Services Pvt. Ltd.
  • On his birthday, 31 March, in 1987, Jayantilal Gada launched a film production and distribution company in Mumbai and named it Pen India Limited, currently known as Pen Studios. The production company is primarily in charge of the creation and release of Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films.

    Pen Studio logo

    Pen Studio logo

  • Gada’s company was reconstituted in 1992 under the name ‘Popular Entertainment Network (PEN) India Ltd.’
  • Pen Studios, which is a loyal buyer of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, was legally incorporated in 2000.
  • In 2004, Gada got associated with Doordarshan. In an interview, while talking about their association, he said,

    So, we presented DD with an innovative policy where we would buy a three-hour slot from them, play a film on it and also sell ads to recover money for it. That policy got passed and they granted the rights to NFDC, which further sold the slots to us. The government, we and the producers of the film, all made money.”

  • Jayantilal Gada wanted to present Sholay’s 3D version on television for a very long time. In 2014, he got the opportunity to pitch the idea in front of the film producer G. P. Sippy. Gada didn’t leave any stone unturned and made the project successful. In an interview, while talking about this in detail, Gada said,

    It [Sholay] was still running in theatres and thus, G. P. Sippy sahab was not wanting it to come on TV so as against the normal price of Rs. 25 lakhs for a film on TV, he asked me for Rs. 1.25 crore, knowing that I would not be able to pay it. But I was determined. We convinced DD to treat Sholay as three films so that they would give us three times the air-time on TV for Rs. 1.25 crores and they did. Can you imagine that one show of Sholay would have run for about 9 hours as it had so many ads and we ran the songs twice each? And while we really troubled the audience, the film had a record TRP of 76 which till today is a benchmark. Through Sholay, I made both money and name. I had bought the rights to show it twice and I then went to Sony TV and convinced them to show it. ”

    Poster of the film Sholay (1975) in 3D presented by Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios) in 2014

    Poster of the film Sholay (1975) in 3D presented by Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios) in 2014

  • In 2014, Gada opted for retirement when he was 52 years old and his son Dhaval Gada was named as his successor at Pen Studios on 3 November 2014, however, Jayantilal Gada’s retirement was short-lived as he resumed office on 1 April 2016.
  • Pen Studios have produced several popular Bollywood films including Kahaani (2012), Mahabharat (2013), and Entertainment (2014).

    Poster of the film Mahabharat (2013)

    Poster of the film Mahabharat (2013)

  • Jayantilal Gada presented the award-winning films RRR (2022) and Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022).

    Poster of the film Gangubai Kathiwadi (2022)

    Poster of the film Gangubai Kathiwadi (2022)

  • In 1992, Pen Studios was granted worldwide distribution rights for Hindi films to television networks such as Zed TV, Sony Entertainment Television, Sahara One, and Disney Star.
  • Jayantilal Gada has been linked as the rights-holder to several films including Sauda (1995), Kohram (1999), Lal Baadshah (1999), Kitne Door Kitne Paas (2002), Shararat (2002), and Yeh Mera India (2008).
  • Jayantilal Gada has held director positions with a number of private companies, including Popular Entertainment Network Private Limited (on 21 December 1983), Play My Song Private Limited (on 16 March 2016), Bollywood Times Private Limited (on 17 March 2016), and Pen Seal Creative Private Limited (on 28 September 2021).
  • He became an individual partner at Wizart Associates Llp on 27 April 2016.
  • Jayantilal Gada said in an interview that he was very proud of himself and also embraced his journey from being someone who sold video cassettes of celebrities in a video library to becoming someone who owns a production house.

    What can be bigger than that for me? From hereon, my journey would have been only about money. I was interested in films, not money.”

  • In an interview, Gada said had Hansa (his wife) not been there, he would not have achieved his dreams.
  • Jyantilal Gada was taken to a hospital in Mumbai in 2021, where he underwent cardiac surgery and had a pacemaker implanted.
  • In an interview, while talking about his love life, Gada said that he got so busy with work that he couldn’t make time for both of his wives.

    I feel I have not given enough time to both my wives as I was busy working for Zee, managing two families and keeping the stars, producers and directors happy. It was challenging and I have completed that.”

  • He was appointed as the ambassador of the Academy Of Universal Global Peace for Peace and Humanity in India after receiving an honorary doctorate in 2018.
  • He has received praise for his work in the film industry from a number of well-known personalities, including Narendra Modi.

    Jyantilal Gada with Narendra Modi

    Jyantilal Gada with Narendra Modi

References/Sources:[+]