It is not always that people win the lottery but for 79-year-old, Rajan Lall, winning a $1 million lottery is not a turning point,it is a full circle moment. The Dubai-based businessman and former Bollywood film producer has won the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw after buying tickets steadily for 25 years. Yet, as he told Khaleej Times, the prize itself was never the main motivation.
“Money doesn’t excite me,” Lall told Khaleej Times explaining that the real thrill lay in finally winning after decades of persistence, something few people ever experience.
Since 2000, buying a Dh1,000 Dubai Duty Free ticket became routine for Lall. Almost every time he travelled, he picked one up, sometimes even two or three in a month. It was never an obsession, just a habit sustained by patience. When he recently calculated his total spending over the years, the figure came to about Dh125,000.
Faith before fortune
Lall attributes the timing of the win to faith. A devotee of Sai Baba, he began the day of the draw with a prayer before heading to the airport. The win revealed itself hours later in an unexpected way. While he was in Saudi Arabia for work, a congratulatory message from a friend left him confused. It was only after his son checked the official website that the reality sank in. Dubai Duty Free officials, meanwhile, had been trying to reach him unsuccessfully as he moved between meetings.
The lottery win reminded Lall of another leap of faith he took more than two decades ago. In 2001, he booked four villas on Palm Jumeirah when the project existed largely as an idea. Nakheel was operating out of a temporary port cabin, and scepticism was widespread. Friends and acquaintances questioned the logic of investing in what they believed was an impossible island. Lall, however, trusted Dubai’s long-term vision and leadership. Today, he continues to live on Palm Jumeirah.
Rebuilding life from zero at 53
Long before Dubai and the lottery, Lall had already lived a full professional life in India. He ran multiple businesses and produced 15 films. But legal troubles and pressure pushed him to make a drastic decision. At 53, he sold everything and moved to Dubai with nothing. He lived in a modest room, paying Dh90 a day, and borrowed money from a friend to set up a small factory in Ajman. Slowly, through persistence, he rebuilt his business. Today, his group operates across several countries, including the UAE.
He often describes himself as self-made, but stresses the importance of staying grounded and remembering one’s roots. Lall’s resilience extends beyond business. Over the years, he has survived four heart attacks, multiple cardiac procedures, an aortic valve replacement, knee surgery, Covid and cancer.
The $1 million prize, Lall says, will not alter how he lives. His focus today is no longer wealth accumulation, but building goodwill, relationships and reputation. Last year, he published I Did It My Way, a book centred not on success stories but on mistakes, and the lessons they carried. He believes impulsive decisions can have long-lasting consequences and that understanding cause and effect is essential, both in business and life.