Business & Investments

As I sit across from Murali Ekarool in his Dubai office, it’s not just an interview it’s a moment of perspective shift. I've always known him as “Achan,” but today, I’m meeting him as the visionary behind Day of Dubai, an artist-turned-entrepreneur who built a media empire in one of the world’s most competitive cities.

The Roots: Humble Beginnings in Unnikulam
Born in 1969 in the quiet village of Unnikulam in Kozhikode, Kerala, Murali grew up attending a local Malayalam-medium school. “School wasn’t really my thing,” he says with a nostalgic smile, “but I’ll never forget my drawing teacher. He believed in me before I believed in myself.” That early encouragement sparked his creative journey. In 1987, he joined Universal Arts School in Calicut, graduating with first class a milestone that reshaped his self-belief.

Before photography entered the picture, he made ends meet painting shop signs and creating portraits. “I didn’t have much, but I had my hands and my hunger,” he recalls. That hunger led to his first studio in Ekarool, where he took on wedding shoots and event photography purely analog, with film rolls and black-and-white prints.
But he didn’t stop there. He ran a small travel agency and even a cassette library. The hustle wasn’t a phase it was his foundation.

Eventually, that drive brought him to Dubai. “I joined a small studio in Karama as a photographer. It was humbling. I went from being my own boss to just another employee,” he says. But even then, he was plotting his next move.

After two and a half years, he moved to Bangalore to study multimedia at Arena Apptech, diving into the digital wave with tools like Photoshop and CorelDRAW. With a fresh skillset and a first-class finish, he returned to Dubai, ready to reinvent himself.

He joined an advertising agency as a graphic designer, spending six years soaking in the industry. “I learned how agencies run, how clients think, how the Dubai market works.” That knowledge laid the groundwork for his next big leap.

In 2002, he founded Signatures Advertising with just three employees. Over time, it grew to include a uniform manufacturing unit in Ajman and an international branch in Guangzhou.  At its peak in 2012, Signatures employed over 60 people.

Then came the crash. “The recession hit hard. I lost nearly everything,” he says candidly. He returned to Bangalore, launched new ventures, and learned the hard way about diversification. But his heart and his unfinished dreams remained in Dubai. 

By 2015, he was back. This time, he focused on a passion project he had quietly launched in 2009: Day of Dubai. With renewed energy, he turned it into one of the UAE’s most respected media platforms in business, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle.

Today, as CEO, he continues to evolve venturing into holistic wellness, Ayurveda, interior design, mining, technology, and more.

Interning here has given me a front-row seat to the perseverance and passion that fuel the brand. Beyond being a father, he is a living embodiment of grit, creativity, and the courage to start over. His journey isn’t just about building businesses it’s a testament to self-belief, second chances, and dreams that take years, even decades, to come to life.

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