Your email is on its way!
To track your gifted subscription, go to your Account Settings 
We’ve emailed your gift link. Want us to send some more?
Yes, Send more
0 of 0 Subscription available
Not now, thanksTo track your gifted subscription, go to your Account Settings
We’ve emailed your gift link. Want us to send some more?
0 of 0 Subscription available
Not now, thanks
Paint is everywhere.
So is Asian Paints.
It colours the walls of a first home and the hull of a battleship.
It brightens the horns of a bull before Pongal and the flanks and bonnet of a city taxi.
It coats the corridors of a hospital, the doors of a temple, and the ceiling above a child's bed.
This is a story about how one company put its mark on all of that and more.
Listen to Intermission
Chapter 1
The End of Champaklal Choksey’s Dream
It was 31 July 1997. Champaklal Hiralal Choksey was on his deathbed. More than five decades ago, he had the vision to found Asian Paints, which would go on to become India's largest paint company.
It was a pivotal moment—the end of a 55-year-old dream. Asian Paints had made good-quality paint affordable for every consumer in India, then taken what was previously a commodity and transformed it into an aspirational good.
What began as a humble garage operation, where paint was mixed by hand, is now a major enterprise generating Rs 33,800 crore in revenue per year.
1.1
Choksey's chairman's letter to shareholders
March 1997
1.2
In March 1997, Choksey's chairman's letter to shareholders read like he was fully invested in Asian Paints' future. He spoke of expanding capacity, chasing technology, and building for the next generation.
Yet within months of writing it, Champaklal Choksey had decided to sell every last share he owned. Whether it was old age or a founder's unsentimental clarity, he had already made up his mind: the company's future was no longer his or his heirs' to hold.
in Bombay
Share price compounded at a high annual growth rate for 30+ years.
The value of Choksey’s shares today
if unsold
Share Price Growth Over 20 Years —
2.1
Chapter 2
Bombay, Gujaratis, and the Beginning of Asian Paints
It was the mid-1930s. Mumbai—still called Bombay—pulsed with ambition. This was where fortunes were made, and a new class of industrialists was about to secure their bloodlines' economic future.
The cotton boom had turned this port city into the nerve centre of Indian entrepreneurship.
2.2
2.3
The headstrong 20-year-old Choksey had a falling out with his father. He left home. He slept on benches on Chowpatty Beach. He eventually set up an agency with his friend, Suryakant Chandulal Dani, to sell paint.
Choksey and Dani developed tight relationships with their network of 130 shopkeepers in Bombay. But the pair decided they can be more than traders. Why not make their own paint—better paint?
Two new partners—Chimanlal Nanabhai Choksi and Arvind Ishwarlal Vakil—brought in fresh capital. The quartet mixed primary colours by hand to make the paint they sold. World War II provided an economic opportunity: battleship grey and red lead were essential naval coating colours. One was for the hull, the other was used below the waterline.
The four partners wanted to keep growing. Jamnadas Vora, also a Gujarati, became their fifth partner. Asian Paints was established on 9 November 1942.
Chapter 3
Early Hurdles
Asian Paints went from mixing paint in a garage to manufacturing in a small factory, but it was still a young enterprise with no real differentiator—paint was, after all, just paint.
Any meaningful improvement in quality can still be copied by any competitor.
The existing conditions in what was then a newly independent India also stacked the deck against Asian Paints.
High-end brands: Shalimar, ICI, Jenson Nicholson, British Paints
Unorganised local sector.
Reliance on large distributors.
Paint was a luxury for most Indians.
Price wars and decades-long relationships.
Company-exclusive distributors.
Mainly dry distemper decorative paints.
Households chose between extremes.
But desperation didn't set in. This was an opportunity. Choksey had a vision to sell Asian Paints in every village in India.
The company's early move was its "Muhammed Ghazni" strategy—to begin by acquiring customers in peripheral towns and move toward major cities, inverting the normal way goods are distributed. In fact, Asian Paints' first dealer was in Sangli, Maharashtra.
Eventually, the founders created a
playbook that worked for the next 50 years.
01.
Small cans (50–100 mL) + rural access + affordability
“A poor household will always colour its entrance door even if they do not paint the rest of the house.”
02.
Personal relationships — Gujarati hospitality embraces shopkeepers and dealers
"Shopkeepers in smaller towns felt pampered while dealing directly with the company, rather than dealing with distributors. They were also getting the product at a better price."
03.
Large network for company-operated depots
Retail dealers could pick up whatever they needed without hassle. There were no wholesale distributors involved, giving Asian Paints more control over the way their products propagated.
04.
Sustain working capital through fast credit cycles
When retail dealers paid off their invoices sooner rather than later, Asia Paints had cash on hand and confidence to invest in its growth and expansion across India.
Swipe to explore
...the popular products used from chuna...
...to emulsions, powders to cans...
...the epicentre of paint production from Calcutta...
...to Bombay...
...the ownership of India's paints industry from foreign brands...
...to a domestic enterprise...
CHAPTER 4
Gattu, Three Mangoes, and Mass Appeal
For Asian Paints to thrive, its products had to carry emotional appeal. Its brand had to be linked to the pride and prospect of home ownership.
Its products were named to connect well with the general populace.
"Don't lose your temper, use Tractor distemper!"
"The [Three Mangoes] brand name had registered well with the retailers and painters, who influenced the purchase of paints considerably those days. So much so, the company was referred to as the 'Mango Company' and the manager and salesmen were referred to as the 'Mango company manager and salesmen'."
Biji Kurien, who was with Asian Paints between 1968 and 1972
One of the most recognisable images associated with Asian Paints was Gattu.
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
A mischievous boy named Gattu became Asian Paints’ mascot in 1954. He appeared in print ads with a tagline: “Any surface that needs painting, needs Asian Paints.”
Gattu was designed by RK Laxman, whose Common Man cartoons were well-known throughout India. Asian Paints was appealing to the masses while its competitors were focusing on upwardly mobile, urban customers.
"Asian Paints and Gattu almost become synonymous. In rural markets of North India, buyers who wanted Asian Paints used to ask for the 'bachha chaap paint [the kid's paint]'; they never mentioned Asian Paints. The identification with Gattu was so strong."
— VS Ramawamy & S Namakumari, Marketing Management: Global Perspective Indian Context
In 2002, Gattu was retired. Asian Paints then positioned itself as the choice of premium households.
Asian Paints had a network, then a community. But even that—along with capital and a second generation of company leaders, the scions of the four original founders—wasn't enough to build a lasting brand.
It needed to add talent to its ranks. For a company founded by Gujaratis, that meant looking elsewhere.
"The Magsaysay laureate, Ela Bhatt, told me that for Gujaratis, being an employee was a distant third in priorities. Working on one's own land comes first, and running one's own business is a close second."
Excerpt from The Gujaratis: A Portrait of a Community by Salil Tripathi
5.1
CHAPTER 5
The IIMs and Managerial Talent
Asian Paints needed to grow its ranks, but the founders didn't want to draw further from the Gujarati community.
5.2
IIM Calcutta is India's first Indian Institute of Management, established in collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management, the Ford Foundation, and the Indian government.
Their concern was that Gujaratis who joined later would learn the ropes, strike out on their own, and become competitors armed with insider intelligence.
5.3
Most of IIM Ahmedabad's lecture halls were hexagonal, so that no student sat too far from the instructor.
Instead, they looked to hire MBAs who were motivated to learn and grow with the company. The timing aligned with the establishment of IIM Calcutta and IIM Ahmedabad in late 1961.
These institutions—and other IIMs that emerged later—became a steady pipeline of ambitious, sharp operators who would take the company to the next level.
Five hires in the 1950s and ’60s defined Asian Paints’ professional culture for decades
5.4
Asian Paints becomes IIM Ahmedabad's fifth largest recruiter in its first decade. In 1971, Choksey and Madhukar visited IIM Calcutta to recruit from a city where their original rivals were located
Every fresh hire went through induction and training in Mumbai, then was streamed into functions in branch sales, computers, or working capital.
Each employee of Asian Paints lived and died by the Branch Operations Manual, a thick volume that contained everything that any member of staff needed to know.
This included
→ How to issue rapid payment programme discounts
→ The protocol for cash discounts
→ Paint codes
And much more.
Retailer receives invoice with a 30-day payment window
Asian Paints gives a 2.5% discount benefit
Retailer carries the onus of prompt payments
Asian Paints receives cash sooner and can forecast cash flow
The company has better working capital which funds company growth
Asian Paints sales staff can focus on sales (instead of collections)
Top performers were elevated quickly. Asian Paints was a place where MBAs could have more independence and responsibilities, even if it meant their salaries were lower than in other companies.
5.11
Asian Paints was one of the first family-managed Indian businesses to break from the tradition of relying on family networks for talent. It deliberately recruited graduates from premier management institutions
New hires in the 1960s and ’70s
Chapter 6
The Wonderful Business of Paint
The business of paints is still unfolding today within and around Asian Paints. As for paint itself—the coloured substance that comes in cans and buckets—its production is down to a science, and its application can reflect our sense of aesthetics.
1–5% Additives
Additives provide additional properties, such as fire retardation, luminescence, solar reflection, waterproofing, and insect repelling
30–50% Solvents
Solvents dissolve pigments and binders to make paint suitable for applying to surfaces
15–30% Pigments and extenders
Lend colour
25–35% Binders
Binders hold pigment particles together to form a film
India's paints and coatings industry was valued at
Rs 1.04 lakh crore
USD 11.45 billion
in FY25
Chapter 7
The Next Generation
In the 1980s, a new middle class was emerging in India. Economic reforms and liberalisation fuelled heady consumerism.
Rising aspirations meant more spending on homes—and more homes to paint. All of that meant the logistics of colour had never been more complicated.
In the 1980s, Asian Paints needed money to fund even more growth. It was among the first businesses in India to buy a mainframe computer. A colour computer reduced tinting time from 5–6 days to 4 hours.
7.1
In the 1980s, Asian Paints needed money to fund even more growth. It was among the first businesses in India to buy a mainframe computer. A colour computer reduced tinting time from 5–6 days to 4 hours.
Four types of ads played up the investment opportunity that was knocking on the doors of every household in India.
7.3
Which paint company offers you a gilt-edged equity investment on a silver platter?
Which paint company has put India on the world map?
When Asian Paints profits have gone up 27 times in 20 years, what's in it for you?
How many paint companies have issued Rs 3.4 crore as a bonus on an original equity capital of Rs 10 lakh?
When Asian Paints listed on the BSE in 1982, few could have predicted what kind of compounder it would become.
What followed was one of the great wealth-creation stories in Indian corporate history. For investors who held on, patience was rewarded many times over.
Rebased to 100 at IPO
Chapter 8
The Split
Even now, Champaklal Choksey is the name most strongly associated with Asian Paints. He was a strong believer in families staying together and the pursuit of harmony—themes that are explored in The Godfather, his favourite book.
“He told me to watch The Godfather, in particular the scene where Santino ‘Sonny’ Corleone speaks out of turn at the meeting between his father Don Corleone and competitor, Virgil Sollozzo, on the drug trade. Dadaji told me that when you come into a meeting, you never counter your own family.”
Prashant Choksey, Champaklal’s second grandson
July 1997
Atul Choksey’s first attempt to exit came in July 1997, when he approached Hemendra Kothari’s DSP Merrill Lynch to offload close to 3.7 million shares. Capital International and Morgan Stanley responded within 24 hours, and the deal appeared to be moving quickly.
Signed on 31 July,
the very day
Champaklal Choksey
passed away.
But it quickly unravelled. When investors realised they were buying the entire Choksey family stake, they pulled out. Nobody wanted to be seen acquiring shares in what looked like a management exit.
August 1997August 1997
A second attempt followed in August 1997, this time through a secret £25 million sale to ICI—a direct competitor—brokered through Kotak Mahindra. The remaining three families refused to register ICI’s shares in the company’s books, and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board weighed in, deeming ICI’s move a hostile entry by a foreign entity into a national champion.
The Choksey family’s shares were ultimately acquired by the remaining three families and the Unit Trust of India—the very outcome Atul had tried to avoid.
And in October 2003, Asian Paints bought the Government of India’s 9.2% stake in ICI. It was almost precisely the same shareholding ICI had once tried to use as a foothold inside Asian Paints.
After the Chokseys left Asian Paints, between FY1998 and FY2025
1X
Sales growth
1X
profit growth
Chapter 9
'The Next Asian'?
Asian Paints' managing director position became professionally led starting in 2009, 12 years after Choksey's death. The role was occupied by PM Murty, then KBS Anand, then Amit Syngle.
Each one left their imprint as a company leader and took the company to greater heights.
Deepak Satwalekar MD in 2021-2023
By 2018, the paints industry was largely split four ways—Asian Paints, Berger, Kansai Nerolac, and Akzo Nobel. Other players have entered the space since then.
Through all of it, Asian Paints has remained the industry's undisputed leader in both market share and the financial returns that follow from operational discipline built over decades.
Its profit trajectory over the past 10 years shows what a well-run incumbent looks like in a growing market.
In 2025
↓4.5%
↓33%
59%
Market share down
52%
Strong profits, however, only tell half the story. The true differentiator between enduring compounders from merely good businesses is what they do with the money they earn.
Asian Paints has historically been disciplined about where it deploys capital—balancing reinvestment in manufacturing and distribution with consistent returns to shareholders.
Asian Paints' competitors—Birla Opus, JSW Dulux, Berger Paints, and others—are undercutting it on prices.
They're overpaying dealers. And they're poaching talent. Most importantly, they're using Asian Paints' own playbook against it.
His heirs did not achieve that.
But others are making a play for it.
Timeline
A journey of color and innovation since the 1930s.
Supported by
Credits
Hosts Rohin Dharmakumar, Seetharaman G
Podcast Producer Vidhatri Rao Menneni
Data Visualisation Anuj Debnath
Video Producers Vijay Subramaniam, Vishnu S, Rajiv CN
Audio Engineer Rajiv CN
Lead Researcher Raghav Batra
Art Direction Kavipriya OG
Product Design Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Ritika Sanikere, Sushmita Vavilala, Karan Kumar
Promotions Pranav Pate, Aakash Raju, Adhavan RK
Writer & Editor Brady Ng
Developer Pranesh R
Resources
The Rise of Asian Paints: Champaklal Choksey, a Doyen of the Indian Paints Industry
The Gujaratis: A Portrait of a Community
The Unusual Billionaires
Unstoppable: Kuldip Singh Dhingra and the Rise of Berger Paints
City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay
Mumbai Fables
Pandeymonium: Piyush Pandey On Advertising
Open House With Piyush Pandey
Nawabs, Nudes, Noodles: India through 50 Years of Advertising
The Secret Lives of Colour
Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation
Ramachandran, J., and Jalaj Garg. “Asian Paints Limited: Painting History”. Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, 1 Feb. 2019.
Shainesh, G. “Asian Paints BHPS: Growing the World’s Largest Painting Service”. Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, 1 Mar. 2025.
Mordor Intelligence. “Paint Industry in India Size, Share & Market Analysis”. Mordor Intelligence, Jan. 2026.
“Gattu Makes a Difference”. The Hindu BusinessLine, 24 Jan. 2018.
“The Coat Beneath the Gloss”. Business Standard, 29 Sept. 1997.
Chatterjee, Dev, and Amritha Pillay. “Asian Paints Co-Founder & Non-Executive Director Ashwin Dani Passes Away”. Business Standard, 28 Sept. 2023.
Khanna, Sundeep. “Backstory: The Battle Royal Between Asian Paints and ICI”. CNBC TV18.
“ICI’s 9.1% Stake in Asian Paints: The Facts Behind the Case”. Business Standard, 22 Aug. 1997.
Khanna, Sundeep. “Ashwin Dani: The Man for All Seasons at Asian Paints”. Moneycontrol, 28 Sept. 2023.
Manghat, Sajeet. “Asian Paints Doubles Returns on Exit from Akzo Nobel”. NDTV Profit, 9 July 2025.
Sambamurthy, Kashmeera. “Asian Paints ‘Gattu’ Exudes the Virtues of ‘the Common Man’”. Brand Equity, The Economic Times, 23 Oct. 2021.
Abreu, Robin. “British Major ICI’s Acquisition of Stake in Asian Paints Raises Spectre of Takeover”. India Today, 7 Sept. 1997.
12 hours of interviews.
Image from Rawpixel.
Screengrab from Youtube: koluthi poduvom pa.
Image from Unsplash.
Still from Youtube: The Bharat Archives.
Still from Youtube: The Bharat Archives.
Still from Youtube: The Bharat Archives.
Photo of Asian Paints founders from Anupam Gupta, The Rise of Asian Paints: Champaklal Choksey, a Doyen of the Indian Paints Industry (Penguin India, 2024). From the Choksey family archives, shared with the author. © Choksey family. Used here with permission of the author.
Image sourced from The Economic Times
Image sourced from The Economic Times
Image sourced from The Economic Times
Image sourced from The Economic Times
Image from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta’s Facebook page.
Photo courtesy of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
Photo courtesy of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
Photo courtesy of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
Photo courtesy of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
Screengrab from Youtube: koluthi poduvom pa.
Screengrab from Youtube: Indian Naturals.
Photo: CDC 6600 by Jitze Couperus, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Errors and Corrections
The quote "IBG, YBG" ("I'll be gone, you'll be gone") was mistakenly attributed by Rohin to The Ken's Editor, Seema Singh. It was actually mentioned by Manish Sabharwal, former CEO of Teamlease, in a podcast conversation with Rohin. He's sorry for the mix-up.
Rohin mistakenly refers to the city of Surat being attacked the second time by Shivaji in 1970. Except, that happened in 1670! Rohin is sorry again.
