Ventilator director Rajesh Mhapuskar says PC is a hands-on producer
Manishaa R (DNA; November 4, 2016)

Priyanka Chopra has sung for her Marathi production debut, Ventilator, which releases today.  According to the film’s writer-director, Rajesh Mapuskar, who last directed the Hindi film, Ferrari Ki Sawari, PC has been keenly following the release strategy and was actively involved in every stage of the film’s production, even though she is currently stationed in LA, “She is closely associated with the filmmaking process whether it means monitoring the progress, watching the trailer or coming up with creative suggestions,” he shares.

The director admits to having approached two other production houses with his script, until he learnt that PC was planning to make her debut in a Marathi production. He was thrilled with her reaction after the narration, “She was overwhelmed with emotion,” he says.

He clarifies that Priyanka’s decision to make her Marathi production debut has nothing to do with the success of Sairat, which swept the box-office, “Sairat had not released then. She took the decision much before that. Also, she wasn’t looking at the box-office when she made the decision. It was the way she connected with the story,” he added.

Mhapuskar avers that PC was more of a role model for the entire unit with her hard work, “She would call up in the middle of the night, after she had wrapped up her work to check the latest on the film. She works round the clock and the whole team was inspired by her dedication,” he adds.

Ventilator stars 116 actors including several veteran Marathi artistes and filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker. It is a film about reconnecting with your family, “Ventilator is a medical term, but in this film it is used as a metaphor to project the reality of life, in a very entertaining manner. The film has its share of light moments but there is an underlying reality in it,” he reveals.