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Srikanth Bolla

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Srikanth Bolla
Born (1991-07-07) 7 July 1991 (age 33)
Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationIndustrialist
Known forFounder of Bollant Industries Pvt. Ltd.
Spouse
Veera Swati duggirala
​
​
(m. 2022)​

Srikanth Bolla (born 7 July 1991) is an Indian industrialist and the founder Chairman of Bollant Industries. He was the first visually-impaired student in Management Science at the Sloan School of Management of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1]

Personal life

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Srikanth Bolla was born on 7 July 1991 to a Telugu speaking family in Seetharamapuram, Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. His parents were uneducated.[2] Born as the first child, he was visually impaired from birth. Bolla's family was mainly dependent on farming.[3] His childhood was full of struggle; there was no electricity, education was a luxury, and his family's income was less than what was needed to survive. Since he was visually impaired, educational opportunities were also a struggle, as not many accommodated it.

In 2012, Bolla set up Bollant Industries with his business partner, Ravi Mantha.

He got married in 2022 to Veera Swathi, after a courtship of almost 10 years. In 2024, the couple had a daughter, whom they named as Nayana, meaning eyes.[2]

In school, around 10th grade, Bolla wanted to study science but due to his visual impairment, he was not able to do so. Even though he topped his class with a 98% on his XII board exams, the school didn't have accommodations for visually impaired pupils. Bolla filed a court case, and after a six-month wait, his perseverance paid off when he won, becoming the first visually impaired student in Andhra Pradesh to study science.[4]

After graduation, Bolla was denied admission to coaching institutes for the Indian Institute of Technology. He decided to pursue engineering because of his blindness.

Since then, he has been an important figure in creating opportunities for visually impaired people. He has been a youth leader since 2005 and went on to become a member of Lead India 2020: The Second National Youth Movement.[5]  Started by former President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Lead India 2020[6] is helping India reach the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020 by eradicating poverty, illiteracy and unemployment.[6]

Career

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Bolla co-founded Samanvai Center for Children with Multiple Disabilities in 2011 in which he started a Braille printing press,[7] providing educational, vocational, financial, and rehabilitation services to students with multiple disabilities for an economically independent and self-sustainable life.[8]

In 2012, Bolla started Bollant Industries with co-founder Ravi Mantha.[9] Bollant Industries manufactures areca-based products and provides employment to several hundred people with disabilities, with funding from Ratan Tata.[3] Addressing a combination of issues – employment, economics and environment – Bollant produces eco-friendly recycled Kraft paper from municipal waste or soiled paper, packaging products from recycled paper, disposable products from natural leaf and recycled paper and recycles waste plastic into usable products.[10] Bollant has shown exceptional growth, averaging 20% a month since inception and a turnover of ₹150 crores in 2018.[11]

Srikanth is the director of Surge Impact Foundation, founded in September 2016.[12] The organisation aims to enable individuals and institutions in India to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.[13]

In April 2017, Bolla was named by Forbes magazine in its list of 30 under 30 across all of Asia, one of only three Indians on that list.[14]

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In 2022, a biopic film Srikanth, featuring actor Rajkummar Rao in the lead role of Srikanth Bolla was announced.[15] The trailer was released on 9th April, 2024.[16] During trailer launch, Srikanth who was also present remembered how the T-Series cassettes helped him complete his education from class 5 to class 10.[17] The film was released on May 10, 2024, on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya.

References

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  1. ^ "Srikanth Bolla '13 proves that anyone can learn how to swim". MIT News. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Srikanth Bolla: First overseas blind student at MIT, entrepreneur who employs the disabled, and subject of a new bollywood film". Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b Kumar, V Rishi (15 February 2016). "Bollant Industries now gets Ratan Tata's backing". The Hindu Business Line. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Srikanth Bolla: Overcoming Adversity to Lead with Vision". Cross Barriers. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  5. ^ "After Being Rejected By IIT, This Blind Man Went On To Become The CEO Of A Company Worth Crores". www.mensxp.com. 14 January 2018. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Lead India". leadindia2020.org. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  7. ^ Kumar, V. Rishi (16 March 2018). "A catalyst for change". @businessline. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  8. ^ "World was blind to see tech entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla's vision, but he had other ideas". dna. 4 August 2018. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Srikanth Bolla: First Overseas Blind Student At MIT, Entrepreneur Who Employs The Disabled, And Subject Of A New Bollywood Film". Forbes India. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Refused by IIT, This Blind Man Went on to Become an MIT Grad and CEO of a Rs 50 Crore Company". The Better India. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  11. ^ "He winked at the world when it failed to see his vision - Times of India". The Times of India. 4 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  12. ^ "Surge Impact I About us". Surge Impact. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Surge Impact - Accelerating social impact in India". Surge Impact. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Srikanth Bolla". Forbes. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  15. ^ "Production begins for Rajkummar Rao's next film 'Sri', a biopic on Srikanth Bolla". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  16. ^ "'Srikanth' trailer: Patralekhaa lauds hubby Rajkummar Rao's hard work and talks about his journey for the movie".
  17. ^ "Srikanth Trailer Launch: Srikanth Bolla gets emotional as he recalls how late Gulshan Kumar helped him in completing his education". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
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