DNA (December 16, 2017)

Making movies has always been a collaborative effort but now, with several producers combining their strengths/finances to make a solid film, it has gained a new meaning. The reasons for this are many. Firstly, it makes bankrolling a production easier. Secondly, when two or more solid producers come together, many aspects of a film are taken care of because all of them bring their equity to the table.

A typical case in a scenario is — one may happen to be a creative genius and the other is a wizard of distribution and exhibition. In what seems to be the norm rather than the exception, After Hrs has learnt how three biggies have got stakes in three of the most-awaited films of 2018.

How Ekta Kapoor entered Kedarnath
Ekta Kapoor had actually paid her cousin and filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor a huge signing amount to direct a film for her. That movie didn’t materialize. Later on, Abhishek decided to direct Kedarnath for Bhushan Kumar and Prernaa Arora. Instead of getting Abhishek to return the signing amount, Ekta converted that amount into her equity in the production.

Karan Johar and Rohit Shetty collaboration
The Karan Johar-Rohit Shetty collaboration also happened on similar lines. Rohit was always meant to direct a movie for Karan’s Dharma Productions. But there was a delay and Rohit wanted to make Simmba with Ranveer Singh way before he could meet his commitment for Dharma. So, the two business-savvy makers decided to combine forces and get the lion to roar.

Sajid Nadiadwala bought Priti Sinha’s stake in Super 30
Filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala happens to be a close buddy of producer Madhu Mantena, who is making Super 30 with Hrithik Roshan. Recently, he stepped in to play troubleshooter between Madhu and his erstwhile business partner Priti Sinha. That’s when he realised that her stake in the film was up for grabs. Priti was the original producer of Super 30 who had even secured the biopic’s rights from the Bihar-based mathematical whiz Anand Kumar. When she opted out, Sajid bought her stake in the film and he will, in all probability, share a producer credit on this Hrithik-starrer along with Madhu and the film corporation, which is jointly co-producing this venture.