Ajay Bijli

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ajay Bijli

• Does Ajay Bijli smoke ?: Not Known

• Does Ajay Bijli drink alcohol?: Not Known

• His father bought Priya cinema, Vasant Vihar, Delhi in 1978.

• In his childhood, he used to spend his whole day at the cinema with his cousins; watching show after show.

• When he was 23, he convinced his father to revamp the cinema. His father was very passionate about it. Their family’s Trucking business and had no real interest in the cinema though Ajay, on the other hand, wanted to venture into the cinema business and was very passionate about.

• In 1990, he married his high school sweetheart, Selena and went on to have two daughters and one son with her. 

• He remodelled Priya Cinema with a new projector, Dolby sound system, carpets, comfortable seats, and better air conditioning. The cinema showcased only Hollywood films. 

• In 1991, it opened after the renovations and was a great success. In an interview he said, “In the early days, I spent hours cooling my heels in the receptions of Hollywood studio offices such as Warner Bros. in Mumbai, trying to convince them to give us movies.”

• In 1992, he was hit by one of the biggest setbacks in his life when his father passed away.

• In 1994, his transport company suffered huge losses due to a fire breakout.

• In late 1995, Ajay joined hands with Village Road Show (VRS), an Australian Company specializing in multiplexes. They named the joint venture Priya Village Roadshow (PVR) and opened the first multiplex in India, PVR Anupam. 

• In 2001, after 9/11, his Australian partners wanted to move out of India. This though didn’t hinder Ajay’s passion but made him even more focused on the expansion of his brand.

• In January 2006, he conducted an IPO to fund the expansion and raised ₹125 Crore.

• He has also produced notable films like Taare Zameen Par in 2007 and Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na in 2008. After some big flops like Action Replayy, they started focusing more on the core of their business; the cinemas.
  

• At the CineAsia 2017, he was awarded as the “Asian Exhibitor of the Year.” 

• On 20 June 2018, his name appeared in the Panama Papers for owning offshore companies.

• In August 2018, PVR acquired 71.69% stakes in SPI Cinemas to increase the PVR Screens in India for a deal worth approximately ₹850 Crore.