Forming Passage to, From India

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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correctly report DesiHits’ past relationships with well-known performing artists and to omit an incorrect revenue figure.

Anjula Acharia-Bath’s story goes from Hollywood to Bollywood and now back.

Her company, DesiHits, brought American pop star Lady Gaga on a tour of India in addition to having worked with performers Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, Britney Spears and 50 Cent.

But now, she’s bringing Bollywood stars to Hollywood.

Her first coup came recently. She manages Priyanka Chopra, who has recently released the single “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” Chopra signed as a Guess model last year and appears in a commercial for Beats by Dre headphones.

Acharia-Bath is trying to balance Chopra’s L.A. engagements with her foreign commitments.

“It’s most challenging getting her time since she is juggling a huge international movie career,” she said.

DesiHits plans to bring other Indian stars to the United States, but for now, the company is concentrating on Chopra.

DesiHits was created in 2006 with the help of Acharia-Bath’s husband, Ranj Bath, who was making Indian music podcasts for download on iTunes from their home. The company moved from London to New York, then Silicon Valley before finally settling in Los Angeles. After building its audience, it came to the attention of music industry investors such as Jimmy Iovine, former chairman of Interscope Records. Iovine helped them evolve, she said.

“Now the company creates original content, has a label that runs through Interscope Records, and consults brands and artists on breaking new markets,” Acharia-Bath said.

Her goal is to help musicians create music with “unique cross-cultural content from East to West.”

Acharia-Bath, 42, also has a background in startup investing and she believes that Los Angeles presents the best opportunities in that area, too.

“I feel it is a job to help other entrepreneurs and advise a lot of startups in the tech world,” she said. “As a startup, you either pivot or die if the industry is not ready for you.”

– Priscilla Casper

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