The audience has showered immense praise on two recent releases – the film, Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway and the OTT series, Rocket Boys 2 — both of which are based on real-life stories. But that’s not the only common factor between these two. Both are creations of Emmay Entertainment content production house, which is headed by the creative-minded trio of Nikkhil Advani, Madhu Bhojwani and Monisha Advani. They like to describe themselves as a ‘triumvirate’, which encapsulates a synergy of creativity with sound finance and pragmatism.

The 12-year-old company boasts of a massive slate of original content, including films and web shows. Ask them about the roadmap that brought the company so far and Nikkhil says that there isn’t one. He reasons, “You spend one year planning to do something, and suddenly out of the blue, something else will come up, and that becomes a roadmap.”

However, Monisha says, “There is a roadmap that makes us a very interesting triumvirate because we function with contrarian views. Nobody saw a pandemic coming and suddenly the consumption pattern changed. The content, the way we presented, all of that is transforming so rapidly that we have to nurture a group of creators who are agile to that flexibility.”

Madhu states that at the end of the day, “it’s the commerce that allows us to exist”. She elaborates, “What these 12 years have taught us and kept us going is that you have to light many fires and hope that they become bonfires around which you can stand and warm your hands. We started this company in 2011, and up to 2017, we produced six films. From 2017 to 2023, we finished our 29th project. That can’t be just based on being reactive. We have grown a competency in the area of web series. We are also excited to tell stories based on true incidents.”

The OTT space is liberating, admits Nikkhil. He adds, “OTT has allowed storytellers to fly. Things like Friday kaun aayega, Saturday kaun baithega, Sunday family baithegi ki nahi. The purity of telling a story gets diluted in the process.”

When asked what draws the trio to real-life stories, Madhu replies, “Real life presents us with the most inspiring and bizarre stories (Airlift, Batla House, Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, Mumbai Diaries and Rocket Boys 1 & 2). Yes, there are a lot of ramifications, especially from a legal standpoint. Three of us are at loggerheads mostly when we give the green signal to a real-life story.”

Nikkhil adds, “I was certain that if I couldn’t use Norway in the title of Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, I wouldn’t make the film.” He also recalls the reactions he got for Rocket Boys. “A lot of people told me that Rocket Boys is cinematic and shot so beautifully, why couldn’t it be a film? It can’t be because then look at the content you will have to give up.”

The trio is moved by the impact their productions have made on the audience. “The impact of Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway is such that women are sending bangles and mirrors to the Norwegian embassy,” Nikkhil shares. Monisha adds, “I don’t know whether it’s triggering or inspiring, but I am moved by the experience. We are not evangelists or activists, we just set out to entertain and tell authentic stories.”

While talking about the production house’s plans — which include the second season of Mumbai Diaries, the new web show Adhura, a film by Saurabh Shukla and another one starring Abhishek Bachchan this year — Nikkhil says he’ll continue to champion the approach of disruption. “We are constantly challenging ourselves. Longevity is a result of disruptions, so I intend to shake things up. Now, whether the disruption will come in the form of genre or an idea, we don’t know,” he signs off.