Ashish Hemrajani — The Man Who Made India Book Tickets Online When Nobody Believed in the Internet

The Dot-Com Dream That Almost Died

In 1999, Ashish Hemrajani was a 24-year-old Sydenham College graduate with a wild idea: sell movie tickets online. The internet in India was slow, expensive, and rare. Most people had never heard of e-commerce. Credit cards were a novelty. Investors laughed at him.

He started a company called Bigtree Entertainment and launched a website called BookMyShow.com. The first few years were brutal. He personally visited cinema owners to convince them to list their shows. Most refused. He coded the first version of the website himself. He processed payments manually.

Then the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. Funding dried up. BookMyShow survived by doing odd jobs — building websites for other companies, selling software, anything to keep the lights on. Ashish took no salary for years, slept in the office, and ate cheap street food.

But he never shut down the ticketing website. He believed that one day, Indians would trust the internet for payments.

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The Bollywood Breakthrough

In 2005, multiplexes started opening across India. PVR, INOX, and Fame changed how Indians watched movies. Booking a ticket in advance became desirable, especially for weekend shows. Ashish saw his moment.

He redesigned BookMyShow, added seat selection, and partnered with multiplex chains. He also introduced convenience fees — a small charge per ticket — which allowed him to make a profit without raising prices for consumers.

By 2008, BookMyShow was selling millions of tickets a year. It had competitors (like JustTicket), but Ashish’s focus on user experience kept him ahead. He also expanded to other cities — first metros, then Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns.

The real breakthrough came with 3 Idiots (2009) and The Avengers (2012). Both movies saw massive advance bookings online. BookMyShow’s servers crashed multiple times, but Ashish saw it as a good problem — demand was exploding.

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Beyond Movies: Live Events and Sports

Ashish realized that movies alone wouldn’t build a billion-dollar company. He expanded into live events — concerts, plays, stand-up comedy, and sports. He signed exclusive deals with IPL teams, music festivals (NH7 Weekender), and international artists (Coldplay, Ed Sheeran).

He also built BookMyShow Live, an in-house event production arm. Instead of just selling tickets, BookMyShow would organize concerts and take a cut of the entire value chain. This vertical integration increased margins.

By 2019, BookMyShow had 50 million annual transacting users, was profitable, and was valued at over $1 billion. Ashish had achieved what seemed impossible in 1999.

The Pandemic: Near-Death and Reinvention

COVID-19 shut down cinemas for over a year. BookMyShow’s revenue collapsed by 90%. Ashish had to lay off hundreds of employees. Industry analysts predicted the company would die.

Instead, Ashish pivoted. He launched BookMyShow Stream — a pay-per-view platform for movies that couldn’t release in theaters. He also introduced virtual events, online workshops, and even live gaming tournaments. The company survived, though at a fraction of its pre-pandemic size.

When cinemas reopened in 2021-2022, pent-up demand led to a surge. BookMyShow’s revenues recovered by 2023, and it returned to profitability. In 2024, it acquired its competitor, JustTicket, consolidating its market leadership.

Leadership Philosophy: Patience Over Hype

Ashish is famously understated. He doesn’t seek media attention. He wears simple clothes, drives a modest car, and lives in a normal Mumbai apartment. His leadership style is patient and detail-oriented. He reads customer feedback daily, visits cinemas unannounced, and personally tests the booking flow.

His key lessons:

  • Survive first, then thrive: BookMyShow survived two decades by being frugal and adaptable.

  • Build for the long term: He never chased hyper-growth or VC-funded burn. Profitability was always a priority.

  • Trust your instinct: Everyone told him online ticketing was impossible. He didn’t listen.

Challenges and Critiques

  • High convenience fees: Customers complain about ₹50–₹100 fees on tickets. Ashish defends them as necessary for technology investment.

  • Competition: Paytm, Insider, and even cinema chains (PVR’s own app) compete aggressively. BookMyShow’s brand loyalty helps.

  • Event cancellations: BookMyShow has faced backlash for refund delays during canceled events. Ashish improved processes but reputation damage lingers.