He started off by joining his family textile business in Calcutta, then moved to Delhi where he did a stint in the construction business and finally moved to Mumbai, where he began by manufacturing audio cassettes. Having been proved third time lucky, Bhagnani topped off his success by plunging into movie production with absolutely no knowledge of films, but a great deal of zest and enthusiasm. ``I came into the film line not because I was `star-struck' but because I wanted a new field to conquer,'' recalls Bhagnani.

According to him, films make good business sense and with proper streamlining and guidelines, the chaotic filmworld can develop into a flourishing industry. ``It's quite surprising that even in these times of recession, people are still willing to pour crores of rupees into films. People don't come to Mumbai only to become actors, there are a lot of newcomers into the finance part of movies too. If the government can come with more stringent laws to curb piracy and reduce taxation, Bollywood will boom like never before,'' he points out.

While he is on the job, this workaholic thinks with his heart. He has a very simple criteria for selecting the script he wants to pour money into -- ``It has to be something which personally appeals to me,'' he says. He hasn't yet had reason to regret his decisions, or even his foray into films, despite having been warned of the disadvantages of the profession, and that includes having to put up with star tantrums. ``I had heard that stars would make my life miserable, but I am still waiting for the tantrums to begin,'' he says.

Doesn't he feel, though, that the Dawid Dhawan `No. 1' titles have been done to death? ``The No. 1 titles came about by sheer necessity. When we were naming Coolie, there was already a movie by that name with Amitabh Bachchan, so we attached No. 1 to it. Then came Hero, but again there was a Subhash Ghai movie by that name, so we attached No. 1 to this too,'' he explains. And that's just as well, since ``these titles have proved to be very lucky.''

His future projects include a film called Beta No. 1 but he is still looking for the right script. Though all his professional concentration is centered on a movie with Abhishek Bachchan, which is on the floors, as of now, he's taking a breather and enjoying his trip to Delhi (``it's one of my favourite cities''), where he has come with the team of Haseena Maan Jayegi for the premiere. Though he enjoys all the eating joints in the Capital, his favourite is Nathus. ``The first thing I did when I came to Delhi this time was to order chole bhature from there,'' he says.