In conversation with Prernaa Arora, the producer behind two mega-hits, Akshay Kumar’s Rustom and Toilet - Ek Prem Katha
MUMBAI MIRROR (October 17, 2017)

Prernaa Arora’s Bollywood journey began with one right step—joining hands with Akshay Kumar to make Rustom in August 2016 with business partner Arjun N Kapoor. Fourteen months later, her banner KriArj Entertainment, headed by her father Virindrra Arora, has taken massive strides into filmmaking.

They broke records with Akshay again, with their super-hit second collaboration, Toilet - Ek Prem Katha. Their next featuring Akshay is Padman in collaboration with Twinkle Khanna aka Mrs Funybones.

In an interview to Mirror, Prernaa gives us insights into her future plans and passion for cinema:

In 12 months, you seem to have announced 12 films!
I’d like to say that we don’t make announcements, we make films. If you look at KriArj’s slate, you will see that even before we finish one film, we are well into the second. That is the strategy.

I am extremely proud to say that we have finished shooting five films that will release in 2018. In February, we have Pari with the super-talented Anushka Sharma. It is a co-production with her banner that is headed by her brother, Karnesh, and Parmanu.

Pad Man releases on April 13. Then, there’s Fanney Khan and TBD title with Vishal Bhardwaj sir by October. Before Rustom released, we were on board Toilet - Ek Prem Katha. Before TEPK was declared a super hit, we completed Parmanu with John Abraham and Diana Penty. We are releasing it on February 23, 2018. Originally, we had planned to release it on December 1 this year but we were happy to move it since Padmavati is opening on that date. Parmanu is an important film for the country and we want to give it the best platform possible. So far, we have completed nearly six films and two more have begun. The first schedule of Kedarnath is wrapped up and we also have Fanney Khan on the floors. As we release two films in February, we commence shooting for the next ones by January-end.

Go on...
Like I said, I’m passionate about cinema and the only thing that truly excites me is producing movies. While I’d love for us to produce an endless list of films, it is not about quantity. Arjun, my dad and I want to invest in quality and set a benchmark for KriArj. Our partnership with Abhishek Kapoor, Vishal Bharadwaj sir and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra sir bring us immense happiness and excitement. We have recently collaborated with Shree Narayan Singh again, over a very important subject.

Who are your favourite actors to work with?
Akshay sir, my all-time favourite, is a superstar with a great business acumen and wisdom. We at KriArj will want to work with him again and again. I also feel proud to work with self-made women, like Mrs. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone.

How involved are you in the actual ground work of film production?
I’m as involved as any hard-working producer would be. I start work a little late in the day (laughs) but I work for 14 hours a day. My team and I are constantly following up with various partners on the day-to-day progress. If I can help it, I try not to miss an important meeting because I don’t just want my name on the marquee. When a movie releases, I want to be able to savour the whole experience by being involved in all the key decision-making. The behind-the-scene production activities are more challenging and what the audience see unfolding in front of them is the collective work of a huge team of people. I’m more of a foot soldier in that sense, than just a producer.