Game on: Women show that authenticity is the new ambition | India News

From boardrooms to backstories, author Kiran Manral’s latest book, ‘The Gamechangers’, celebrates women rewriting the playbook on power, purpose, and perseverance. It reminds us that you don’t need to burn out to stand out. When women rewrite the rules, even the game has to change.In The Gamechangers: Women Entrepreneurs Redefining Success, Kiran Manral turns the spotlight on a generation of women who’ve quietly upended the way we think about ambition. Gone are the hashtags of “girlboss” grit and 4 a.m. hustle; in their place stand stories of purpose, empathy, and authentic leadership. Through candid conversations and sharp observations, Manral’s portraits reveal that success today isn’t about shouting the loudest, it’s about lasting the longest, and doing it on your own terms. With her trademark wit and warmth, Manral nudges readers to look beyond the buzzwords. The women in The Gamechangers aren’t chasing validation, they’re building value. And in a world addicted to speed, their calm confidence might just be the most radical move of all.Here are excerpts from an interview with the author:Surya HK (SHK): The title The Game Changers sounds bold and almost like a challenge. Was that deliberate?Kiran Manral (KM): Absolutely, the title was a very deliberate choice. The Game Changers isn’t just about women who broke through barriers, it is about women who are steadily redefining the rules of the entrepreneurial game entirely. The title had to carry energy, intent, and definitely a certain defiance, to reflect the women I was writing about. I’ve constantly tried new things, thanks to a low boredom threshold, and by virtue of that I seem to have constantly reinvented myself every decade of my life. In that sense, yes, this book does seem to mirror my own refusal to stay confined to a single definition of who I am.SHK: You’ve written of, for, and about women for years, but this time you’ve stepped into the entrepreneurial arena. What made you want to explore this space now?KM: My earlier books profiled women who shaped India across fields — politics, science, cinema, sports, entrepreneurship and more. With The Game Changers, I wanted to focus specifically on women entrepreneurs. This is an exciting moment for women in business in India. From unicorn founders to small-town innovators building sustainable ventures, women are claiming space with courage, creativity and resilience. Yet I noticed a gap — their stories were often reduced to metrics and milestones, instead of mindset and meaning. What drives many of these entrepreneurs isn’t just opportunity or profit. It’s lived experience: responding to a need they felt personally or witnessed around them, or entering spaces where women are rarely seen. I wanted to explore what anchors them, what empowers them, and what fuels them beyond performance. In many ways, this book is a natural continuation of my commitment to telling women’s stories — this time through the lens of leadership and enterprise.SHK: You’ve said the book is about authenticity, not hustle. In a world obsessed with productivity, what does authentic success look like to you?KM: For me, authentic success is when who you are aligns with what you do — when you don’t have to perform an idea of success for the world. Hustle culture tells us that busyness equals worth and exhaustion is an achievement. But every woman I interviewed had, in her own way, rejected that myth. They valued meaning over motion. Authentic success is quiet. It focuses on building something sustainable, choosing integrity over optics, and knowing when to pause as much as when to push. It’s the confidence to say no when something doesn’t align with your values, and the joy of creating despite critics or doubt. That, to me, is what true success looks like.SHK: Were there any stories that stayed with you, ones that changed the way you think about ambition or failure?KM: Vineeta Singh stands out for her resilience — after two failed ventures, she built Sugar Cosmetics into a major brand. Rachana Gupta of Gynoveda brought together women’s health, Ayurveda, and technology in a way no one had attempted before. Apurva Purohit chose to step away from a powerful corporate role to empower women at the grassroots. Neelu Khatri’s shift from the Indian Air Force to entrepreneurship shows that ambition has no expiry date. And Rashi Narang built a thriving pet-care business when the very idea of “pet parents” was still new. Across these conversations, what struck me most were the stories of setbacks — rejections, pivots, reinventions and fresh starts. They were a powerful reminder that failure is not the end, but often the most important lesson in resilience and self-belief. It made me see ambition not as a straight ladder, but a journey of detours that ultimately lead you back to yourself.SHK: From venture capital to homegrown brands, these women come from wildly different worlds. Did you spot a common thread running through them?KM: Absolutely. Despite differences in industry, scale, and background, what united them was a strong sense of purpose — a desire to create something that adds real value to people’s lives. Whether it was making sarees cool again for young women or pushing for 50% women’s representation across an airline, they were all, in some way, lifting other women as they built. They shared a solutions-first mindset — practical, determined, and driven to “get it done.” Each one was building something larger than herself, whether through livelihoods, innovation, or shifting gender norms. And perhaps most importantly, they all led with empathy. Their emotional intelligence sets them apart — shaping leadership that sustains rather than leadership that burns out.SHK: The book highlights both the sparkle and the slog of entrepreneurship. How do you balance honesty with inspiration when telling these stories?KM: That balance was integral to the book. I was clear that I did not want the book to become either a hagiography or a hard-luck chronicle. The sparkle and the glamour is what we see, but it is the behind the scenes, the failures, the relentless slog, the long hours, the self-doubt, the trade-offs, that was where the real story lay. My approach was to let the women’s voices lead, which is why I chose the Q&A format rather than the narrative format. Their candour and honesty shaped the tone of the book. Hopefully, the readers will see the joys and the struggles, and be inspired to set off on their own entrepreneurial journeys.SHK: There’s a lot of warmth in your writing, even when you’re making tough points. How do you stay tactful, especially when calling out uncomfortable truths?KM: For me, it’s empathy. I don’t write to judge — I write to understand and to share stories that deserve to be heard. When I explore difficult subjects like failure or flawed decisions, it’s through the lens of humanity: What can a reader learn from this? Can it help them make better choices? Warmth encourages engagement, not defensiveness. My aim is always to present the truth with sincerity, allowing readers to reflect while staying rooted in facts.