Celebrating Priya Jethani’s incredible work: She is a woman with multiple feathers on her hat!
They say – If there is a will, there is a way! The most beautiful thing in this world is to see a woman passionately work towards her dreams. When it comes to the glamour world, a lot of people leave hope after a certain point in their lives. Honestly, this is a field where you need to keep a lot of patience, but those who keep it, make it big & we know that! One such charismatic personality is, Priya Jethani is a television Anchor, Emcee, Actor, and Model. Here is a sneak peek into her incredible journey. She is indeed an inspiration for millions of girls out there. Recently, we got a chance to candidly chat with her.
Well, Priya is a Dubai girl. She was raised in Dubai. Originally, she is from Ajmer and also has roots in Lucknow. Her parents moved to India a few years back, but she continued to stay in Dubai to work on her dreams and passion.
A brief note about her early life and how did she start her career?
She did her schooling from Own English High School Dubai. In the year 2005, she joined the University of Wollongong in Dubai to do a BCOM Marketing course for 3 years. Following that, she took up a full time job. Her first job was in a marketing research firm MEMRB. She was doing an MBA programme alongside her job. It was a lot of hardwork and after 2 years, she got her dream job. In the year 2011, she started working for one of the biggest marketing research firms – The Nielsen Company. But she didn’t stop there. She had bigger plans.
Destiny had other plans for her
Being a TV presenter was never something that she had dreamed of or desired to be. Yes, she was interested in media and glamour and to begin with, she got her portfolio of professional photos made right after her school days. Floated that around to a few agencies but didn’t pursue it too much. Studies and the corporate job took over, and she forgot about it for many years until Feb 2016 when she took up some modelling and even a beauty pageant. This was quite a confidence boost for her and made her believe that she could still do something in this field. Soon after that, she was actively looking for work in this field. She was fortunate enough and was soon casted in various commercials for big brands namely Zulekha Hospital, Pan Emirates, Western Union, Danube Home, Carrefour, and the like.
Read more: Meet Deepti Sadhwani, a woman with wings
A special message from her for the people who dream to make a career in this field
“For people looking to do the same, I would simply like to say – Your dreams don’t have an expiry date, so even if you think you may be late to get into a field like media, give it that shot. A year from now, you will hear yourself say I should’ve begun then. So the minute you realize just take that leap, and paths will open up on their own.”
When did her Dream Journey begin?
At that time, she was doing a number of shoots and fashion shows. One fine day, she came across ZEE TV ME holding auditions for their new season of Zee Connect – a lifestyle show that covers all kinds of events and celebrity interviews. She decided to give it a shot. After a couple of auditions, she was chosen to be the presenter for SEASON 6 of the show starting October 2016. YES, it has been 5 years with ZEE ever since. Interestingly, she is now hosting the season 10 of the show which started in Aug 2020.
She recalled her experience of being a newbie of this field. With no experience, she started off her career. Slowly, she learnt the nuances of being a TV presenter. She went on to do many celebrities interviews. From Dia Mirza to SRK, Priya rocked it and this gave a boost to her confidence.
Priya’s fan moment with one and only SRK
SRK by far was the most memorable guest on her show. His charm, his wit, his skill of making you feel at ease is just remarkable. Priya recalled, she was only 10 episodes old in the show and he came down for the promotions of his film Raees. The way he made Priya comfortable is one thing that she will never forget in her life. His humble attitude left a mark on her.
Further, Priya threw some light on the UAE & Bollywood connection. She said, “A large part of the population in this region watches Bollywood, it has been so for many years. Now with so many Bollywood movies and web series being shot here it almost feels like UAE is the industry’s second home. “
Her future plans
We asked about her future plans.
To which she replied, “Broadcasting will continue till I am too old for being in front of the camera :P. I have learned a lot of what goes into putting together a TV show and I might consider taking up production work at some point.”
And at the moment I am working on launching my own label. I am turning entrepreneur soon, starting with my own fragrance which will be out in the market soon :)
Family matters!
My parents and brother have been the biggest influences in my life. My dad has always been a hard worker and wanted to do a job in the best way possible. My mother was a great multitasker, a very sharp mind, and inspired me to never stop learning. From an early age, I was inclined to be independent and work for myself and the push came from both my parents who were always encouraging me to achieve the best. My brother has been a huge support in both my personal and professional life, standing by me like a pillar when I was going through a divorce, and always supporting and guiding me in my work assignments.
We agree Priya! If one has a supportive family, nothing can stop them!
