The Secret Sauce

In this deeply personal episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, Lisa Ray opens up about cancer, chemo-induced menopause, perimenopause, aging, and the silence that still surrounds women’s health. Lisa shares how cancer treatment pushed her into chemo-induced menopause at 37, why she did not speak about it for years, and how that silence reflects a much larger problem: women’s health is still too ofte...

In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, Mukul Deora speaks with the former CEO of Hindustan Unilever about crisis, ambition, failure, ethics and the mindset required to build a high-performance company. Sanjiv shares how his time in the Bhopal crisis team shaped his belief that businesses must serve society, not just shareholders.  The conversation covers the hard parts of leadership: taking...

Stress is not always the problem. The wrong kind of stress, without recovery, is.  In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, Mukul Deora speaks to Dr. Marcus Ranney, longevity physician and high performance specialist, about why stress is not always the enemy. He explains the difference between eustress and distress, how modern life keeps the body in a constant low-grade distress through emails...

India’s top dermatologist Dr. Jaishree Sharad breaks down what is really aging your skin, from sugar and collagen loss to hormones, sunscreen, acne, dark circles and the skincare mistakes Indians are making every day. In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, we go beyond beauty tips and look at skin as a reflection of health. Dr. Jaishree explains why Indian skin is different, why Korean skinc...

Shobana Kamineni is the force behind Apollo HealthCo, a triple-unicorn healthcare business built across Apollo 24|7, Keimed, and Apollo Pharmacy. In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, Mukul Deora speaks with Shobana Kamineni about what it takes to build and scale healthcare businesses inside one of India’s most respected healthcare groups. She shares the story behind Apollo Pharmacy, the cr...

Most people wait for symptoms before taking their health seriously. But some of the biggest risks, heart disease, fatty liver, visceral fat, aneurysms and metabolic syndrome, can build silently for years. In this episode Dr. Anirudh Kohli, radiologist and CEO of Breach Candy Hospital, to understand how preventive imaging can help detect hidden health risks before they become serious. Dr. Kohli bre...

Divorce in India is often seen as the end of a marriage, but the reality is far more complicated. From emotional infidelity and family interference to legal delays, alimony, child custody, and social pressure, separation in India is rarely just about two people walking away. In this episode India's Top divorce lawyer Mrunalini Deshmukh explains why Indian marriages fail, why divorce cases are risi...

A child’s sleep problem doesn’t always look like a sleep problem. Sometimes it looks like poor focus, mood swings, anxiety, weight gain, bedwetting, mouth breathing, snoring, or a child who wakes up tired despite “sleeping enough.” In this episode, Dr. Indu Khosla explains why children’s sleep health is deeply connected to growth, immunity, learning, hormones, behaviour, breathing, and long-term d...

 Your brain is not just where you think. It is where your memory, sleep, behaviour, movement, judgement, personality and identity are being built every day. In this episode, neurosurgeon Dr. Mazda Turel takes us inside the human brain from awake brain surgery and brain tumour cases to sleep, alcohol, smoking, screen addiction, dopamine detox, AI, neuroplasticity and spine health. He explains what...

A painting sells for ₹100 crore. But how does that number actually happen? In this conversation with Mallika Saagar, India’s top art auctioneer, we demystify the Indian art market from how artworks move from artists to galleries, to how they enter auctions, to what really happens when collectors start bidding against each other. Mallika breaks down the difference between the primary and secondary...

What does reading actually do to your brain, your stress levels, your focus, and the way you live?  In this conversation, Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta Asia’s 1st Reading Coach tells us why reading still matters in the age of endless scrolling, short-form content, screens, and constant stimulation. The discussion goes beyond “reading is good for you” and looks at what actually happens inside the brain wh...

Why do so many Indians struggle with metabolic health, sugar cravings, and rising diabetes risk even when they feel “fine”? In this conversation with Dr. Vishakha Shivdasani, Physician practicing metabolic health, longevity and disease reversal breaks down the real problem behind modern Indian health. This episode explores how the typical Indian diet, hidden insulin resistance, and everyday habits...

When to let patients go is one of the hardest decisions in medicine, but it’s only one part of a much deeper conversation. In this episode, Dr. Farokh Udwadia, Padma Bhushan awardee and one of India’s most respected physicians, reflects on how medicine has evolved and what it may have lost along the way. From building critical care in India to decades at the bedside, he brings a rare perspective o...

Most people think heart attacks happen because of age, weight, or obvious symptoms. This conversation challenges that assumption by examining heart attack causes and prevention, revealing why young, thin, and “healthy-looking” individuals remain at risk and what truly drives heart disease today. From the confusion around COVID and heart attacks to the role of inflammation and cholesterol, this epi...

Naina Lal Kidwai didn't just survive Indian banking — she built it. In this conversation, the former HSBC India Chairman walks through the decisions, the crises, and the costs behind one of the most consequential careers in Indian financial history. She was in the room when NSE was conceptualised — because BSE refused to change. She was CEO of HSBC India during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, managing h...

What do anxiety, depression, narcissism, and addiction actually mean and how do you know when they become something more serious? In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, Dr. Swati Kashyap a psychiatrist, psychologist, addictionologist, hypnotherapist, and family physician known for her integrative approach to mental health- to unpack the psychology behind anxiety disorders, clinical depressio...

How was Maruti built when almost nobody believed it would succeed? In this conversation, R.C. Bhargava shares the inside story of how Maruti was built against skepticism, political pressure, and the rigid realities of India’s controlled economy. He explains why most foreign companies refused to invest, how Suzuki saw India’s future before others did, and what it took to build a modern automobile c...

Most people think burnout is just tiredness. But brain burnout is a deeper problem - a state where your mind loses the ability to switch off, recover, and regain energy. In this conversation, Dr. Shailendra Chaubey - India's leading Vitality and Holistic Wellness Expert - explains why so many high performers today feel mentally exhausted even after rest. He breaks down the science behind brain fat...

Teen mental health is on the rise - and most parents are missing the early warning signs. In this deep conversation with Dr. Zirak Marker, child, adolescent & family psychiatrist and psychotherapist, we unpack why anxiety, depression, ADHD, bullying, screen addiction, and substance abuse are increasing in today’s youth. From the underdeveloped teenage brain to instant gratification, social media p...

When wealth grows, how should your mindset change? In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, we sit down with Umang Papneja, CEO of Julius Baer, to unpack how India’s ultra-rich think about money - not just how they make it, but how they protect, allocate, and compound it across decades. From sudden liquidity events to multi-generational planning, this conversation reveals the discipline behind...

Why are modern women feeling more exhausted than ever before? In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, Dr. Aditi Govitrikar breaks down the real reasons behind burnout, guilt, and emotional overwhelm in today’s fast-paced world - and offers practical ways to navigate it. Dr. Aditi is a Havard trained psychologist, who brings together professional training and real-life insight to explain the i...

How do you actually build India’s biggest financial institution from scratch? In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, legendary business leader DEEPAK PAREKH reveals how patience, integrity, employee ownership, and long-term thinking created one of India’s most trusted organisations. Mr. Parekh is the former Chairman of HDFC and a pioneer of India’s housing finance industry. Over four decades...

In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, India’s Leading Paediatrician, Dr. Mahesh Balsekar, draws on over three decades of clinical experience to explain how parenting has changed, why children’s physical and mental health challenges look so different today, and what actually helps children grow into healthy, resilient adults. From rising childhood obesity and sleep deprivation to anxiety, sc...

Most people think India’s credit boom is a recent fintech story, but the reality runs much deeper. In this conversation, global fintech leader, Lizzie Chapman explains how India has always run on credit through informal trust networks, how digital public infrastructure like UPI radically accelerated access, and why modern banking systems are engineered to profit from consumer mistakes. She breaks...

In this episode of The Secret Sauce Podcast, Ophthalmologist Dr. Ritika Dalal explains how prolonged screen use is quietly reshaping eye health, why modern screen habits strain both adult and developing eyes, and how repeated exposure can shape long-term risks like chronic dry eye, digital eye strain, and early vision problems especially in children. We break down what happens when eyes are forced...