Meet man who started Rs 7,500 crore company after sending drunk text to boss, now charged for black market sale of...

In connection with the alleged black marketing of Coldplay concert tickets, Ashish Hemrajani, CEO of Big Tree Entertainment Private Limited, the parent company of BookMyShow, and the head of the firm's technical department have been summoned by Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

According to the news agency PTI, an official said, "Accordingly, the CEO and co-founder of BookMyShow Ashish Hemrajani along with the company's technical head have been summoned. Their statements will be recorded on Saturday. A preliminary inquiry has begun."

The phenomenal response to the Mumbai leg of Coldplay's 'Music of the Spheres World Tour 2025' prompted the band to recently add a third show. The band will perform three times on January 18, 19, and 21 of next year at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

About Ashish Hemrajani: 

In 1999, Ashish Hemrajani founded Bigtree Entertainment, the parent company that runs BookMyShow. BookMyShow was once a novel concept that transformed the way Indians purchased tickets for events such as concerts, films, and other events. Today, it is one of the most popular platforms in the nation.

Ashish once revealed in an interview that he once shared his business idea with his boss through a drunk text message back in 1999, as per the Entrepreneurs Today report. Surprisingly, his boss supported him, saying, 'No problem. Go for it.' It was this unusual conversation that set Hemrajani on the path to creating the influential platform, the report added.

Hemrajani, who has experience in marketing and advertising, was crucial to the founding of the business. He moved from providing back-end ticketing services to starting BookMyShow as multiplexes and electronic payment methods gained popularity.

Ashish Hemrajani graduated from Sydenham with an MBA in marketing. Asish held jobs in the client and account management areas of J. Walter Thompson, an advertising company, prior to starting BookMyShow. He later made a strategic shift with BookMyShow, and according to a StartupTalkey piece, he is now the company's founder and CEO.

As per certain media sources, Ashish's company BookMyShow is valued at an estimated Rs 7,500 crore, and he has a net worth of around Rs 3,000 crore.