My Life My Style: Roopak Saluja

'I believe in service karma'

Best work moment
Bang Bang being declared the second fastest-growing company in India by Harvard’s All World Network in 2010.

Books on your bedside
Shashi Tharoor’s Pax Indica, Jim Stengel’s Grow and Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment, all on my iPad Kindle app.

Designs that have caught your eye recently
Parts of Barajas Airport, Madrid; Nikka Whisky From The Barrel packaging; Land Rover Evoque.

Favourite spirit
Yamazaki 18, Ardbeg Corryvreckan, The Balvenie 30, Stolichnaya.

Your sleeping ritual
I set the alarm on my sleep tracking wristband and try and pass out before my mind starts racing. Ten minutes of deep slumber and our one-year old, Kai, wakes us demanding to move from his cot to our bed.

Best gift received
A Foreman Grill from my wife, Tara.

Best gift given
Every time I convert someone from PC to Mac. Tara and my mother even got Macbook Airs in the bargain.

Favourite cuisine
Most things Japanese — sushi, teppanyaki, kaiseki, yakitori and even packed snacks.

Newspaper TV channels and websites you prefer
Mint, International Herald Tribune, The Financial Times, Fast Company, Campaign; I don’t watch TV except on mute at the gym.

Where do you like to sit when being driven? Upfront with driver of back seat like sahib?
Back left like a sahib, front passenger seat pushed all the way up against the glove compartment to maximise legroom.

On a plane do you prefer to network, sleep or catch up on films and reading?
All of the above depending on the duration of the flight. I generally have a content strategy for long-haul flights with a balanced mix of movies, TV shows and reading.

Fancy coffee or masala tea
I don’t drink tea unless it’s green. And I’m a horrible coffee snob — freshly ground beans every morning at home, freshly brewed outside. Espresso after lunch. No milk, no sugar.

Do you fill customer feedback forms? Why?
Often. Because I strongly believe in service karma. You have to do your bit for the greater good of customer service; what goes around comes around.

What’s your fragrance?
Egoïste Platinum by Chanel. Nothing else for 16 years now.

Your favourite evening wear
Mostly casual, sometimes a jacket; Diesel, Paul Smith, Zara, Armani depending on how casual or formal.

Your current set of wheels
A black Mitsubishi Outlander.

Favourite restaurant
Sasabune in LA; Momofuku Ssam and Per Se in New York; Back to Basics (it just shut down, I’m shattered!) and Viajante in London; Toaya, a little sushi place off Sukhumvit in Bangkok and Trishna in Mumbai.

Your workout regime
Thirty to 90 minutes six times a week — either cardio, weights or both. Plus I just started playing tennis after 25 years. If I can hit my Nike Fuel daily goal I’m happy.

Your ideal holiday
By the sea, doing nothing, preferably in the Southern Hemisphere. I’m waiting for our boys to grow older so we can do a Galapagos trip and a Zambian safari, among other things.

At parties do you like to talk turkey or make PC?
Depends on whom I’m talking to and how much I’ve had to drink.

Your favourite motto
It’s good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end.

Roopak Saluja
Founder & CEO, Bang Bang Films